In the Shadows
by Ravlia
Summary: Mt. Ebott holds a long forgotten secret in its depths, and a young woman stumbles upon it. Monsters live here, and it's a bit different than the surface world she's used to. Maybe here she can make some new friends... and maybe something more? (Eventual SansXOC) (M to be safe)
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

"Another meaningless day..." The young woman sighed as she climbed the hill, closer and closer to Mt. Ebott. She knew it was forbidden to go there, because whenever a person went there they never returned. That was what she wanted though; to disappear and never return to the sad excuse of a life she had on the surface. All she wanted to do was get away from everything and everyone that had ever hurt her.

In front of her was a cave, though one could hardly tell it was there with the vines covering the entrance. She parted the thick vines and made her way past the entrance as curiosity started to get the better of her. The cave was darker than she expected, having to feel her way around slightly on the moist walls. Her foot caught on a rock and she stumbled forward, bracing herself for impact but she continued to fall. She twisted herself in the air before a scream ripped itself from her throat and her world turned blacker than it already was.

Waking with a jolt, the woman bit her lip in pain as she felt her whole back blossom into throbbing agony. She gazed around slowly, seeing broken pillars and strange markings on the walls. Her hand grazed the place under her, turning her eyes to the golden colored flowers. "Are these buttercups?" She questioned as she plucked one, looking it over closely. A smile turned her lips upward as she tucked the golden flower behind her ear and slowly stood.

The young woman slowly made her way toward what looked like an opening in the domed area. A shiver ran up her spine as she passed through the archway and into the next room. A small lit up area had a single flower in the middle of it, with six golden petals surrounding a white center face. "Wait a minute…" she stared at the flower longer and it gazed back at her in a friendly manner.

"Howdy!" A shrill voice erupted from the flower's mouth. "I'm Flowey! Flowey the flower!" 'He' she assumed seemed excited, but something felt off about the situation.

"I'm-"

"Hmm… you're new to the Underground, aren't you?" Flowey cut her off from introducing herself. "Golly! You must be so confused!" She glared at the flower for a second due to it sounding rude to her ears. "If you want I can teach you how things work around here."

She felt a massive pull in her chest region and took in a sharp breath, closing her eyes. A great feeling of loss flooded into her system, like she lost most of herself in that pulling sensation. Her eyes snapped open as she heard Flowey gasp, before gasping herself at the sight in front of her. A green and purple heart was floating between the two of them; a jagged dark crack split it right down the middle.

"Wha… What is that?" She reached out and gently ran her fingertips over the heart. A rush of emotions ran through her, and recognition passed over here. This heart was the missing part of her.

"I've NEVER seen a soul like yours before." The flower drew her out of her thoughts. "Anyway, that heart is your SOUL, the very culmination of your being." A gasp passed her lips at the information. "It starts off weak, but gets stronger with LV, or LOVE. You want some love, don't you?" Flowey watched her flinch; he had struck a chord somewhere deep in her.

"Don't worry; I'll share some with you!" Small white seeds were conjured above his head. "Down here, love is shared through little, white 'friendliness pellets'!" The flower's eyes shifted in a strange way, making her not trust his 'friendliness pellets.' "Are you ready? Move around, get as many as you can!"

The pellets started moving toward her soul at a normal rate and she moved out of the way. Flowey gave her an annoyed stare. "Hey buddy, you missed them. Let's try again, okay?" The pellets reformed above his head and flew toward her. She dodged again. "Is this a joke? Are you braindead? RUN. INTO. THE. BULLETS!" his face showed anger, to which she glared right back at him. "Friendliness Pellets." He quickly corrected. Another onslaught of seeds came toward her, to which she pulled her soul out of the way. Her eyes turned back to the flower who looked menacingly back.

"You know what's going on here, don't you?" Flowey's voice had shifted into a more sinister tone. "You just wanted to see me suffer." A ring of bullets formed around the bi-colored heart. "DIE." He shouted and chuckled madly. The bullets rotated and started closing in on her soul. She felt utterly helpless in this situation.

A loud crackling sound interrupted the flower's laughter as a bright flame crashed into him, knocking him out of the ground. The pellets surrounding her soul dispersed as it flew back into her chest. She once again felt complete and whole.

She glanced around as a figure appeared out of the darkness. A rather large goat looking woman, wearing white and purple robes with a strange blue and white crest on the front of it, smiled kindly over at her.

"What a terrible creature, torturing such a poor, innocent youth." Her voice was gentle and motherly. "Ah, do not be afraid, my child. I am Toriel, caretaker of the ruins." Toriel folded her hands in front of her. "I pass through here every day to see if anyone has fallen down. You are the first human to come down here in a long time. Come, I will guide you through the catacombs." The goat woman walked through the door she had come through.

She reluctantly followed the goat woman away, wondering if any creature down here would ever let her tell them her name. After a while, Toriel left her to her own devices, telling her that she had to take care of something. The goat woman had given her a cell phone so they could keep in contact with one another.

She rested for a bit, curling her knees to her chest and staring down at the phone. Feelings of loneliness started to seep into her being the more she was alone with her own thoughts. She felt herself missing the only person that she could never see again; her mother. The woman had died a few years ago due to her abusive ex-husband coming to 'finish the job.' She felt herself tear up slightly as she pushed the button to speed dial Toriel's number.

The phone rang a few times before the goat woman answered. "This is Toriel."

"Toriel?" Her voice cracked slightly as she spoke.

"What's wrong?" There was concern in Toriel's tone.

"Would…. Would you mind… if I called you 'Mom'?" Tears were now streaming down her cheeks.

"Well… I suppose…" Toriel hesitated. "Would that make you happy? To call me… 'Mother'?"

"It would make me very happy right now." She murmured.

"Well then, call me whatever you like!"

"Okay, mom." She wiped the tears from her face. "I'll see you soon right?"

"Of course, my child." With that the call ended. It took a few minutes for her to get back to normal and clear her head before standing and going to explore more of the ruins. She ran into a few monsters here and there, talking to them and even giving some spiders money for a donut, before finding herself in front of a big, old tree.

Toriel ran to the side of the tree, dialing a number and placing the phone to one of her ears. A ring echoed in the area before the goat woman turned her head in surprise, seeing her standing there. "How did you get here, my child? Are you hurt?"

"No, mom, I'm fine." She smiled, which Toriel returned.

"I should not have left you alone for so long. It was irresponsible to try to surprise you like this." Toriel bit her tongue slightly. "Err… Well I suppose I cannot hide it any longer. Come, small one." The goat woman turned and entered into what looked like a small house from the outside.

"I'm not that small… I'm twenty-one for Pete's sake." She mumbled. Though, she was rather small compared to Toriel, so she shrugged it off. She followed quickly into the house.

"Do you smell that?" Toriel asked when she walked through the door. She nodded her head, catching hints of cinnamon and butterscotch on the air. "Surprise! It's a butterscotch-cinnamon pie. I thought we might celebrate your arrival. I want you to have a nice time living here."

"Thank you." She smiled.

"I'll hold off on making snail pie for tonight." Toriel smiled back. "Here I have another surprise for you." She turned and walked down a hallway to the right.

"This is it." She gently took the human's hand and led her to a door. "A room of your own. I hope you like it." Toriel then lovingly rubbed her hand over the girl's hair in a motherly way before taking off, mumbling about smelling something burning.

She wandered into the room, taking in everything that was inside. There was a box of toys at the foot of the bed, some stuffed animals resting on the welcoming red comforter. A wardrobe and dresser lined the wall, as well as two lamps, a picture of a flower and a box full of children's shoes. She couldn't help but smile at the effort Toriel put into everything to make her feel at home in this strange place.

Pulling her arms up to stretch, though trying to not put too much pressure on her back, she made her way to the bed and belly-flopped onto it. She tucked her arms up under the pillow and sighed out in contentment. Her eyes slowly fell closed and her breathing lengthened, signaling her slumber.

She once more jolted awake, a cold sweat covering her, eyes wide. Her dream had brought back a lot of bad memories from her past. The one that stuck out the most was of her old German Shephard dog getting hit by a car in front of her. She had been around four or five at the time, and grew up with the dog so it made it that much more gruesome to her. She huddled into herself for a few minutes before taking in her surroundings again. The only difference was a plate in the middle of the room with a piece of pie resting on it.

Standing, she stretched out her back, which wasn't in so much pain anymore, hearing a few satisfying pops. She walked over and picked up the plate, sniffing the pie. It was definitely the butterscotch-cinnamon one that Toriel had promised her. She smiled, finding her way out of the room and into the hallway. She walked down to her right to see where the goat woman was. She found Toriel sitting in a large, comfortable looking armchair, reading glasses on and flipping through the pages of a well-used book.

"Hi, mom." She smiled.

"Hello, my child. Did you have a nice nap?" The goat woman returned her smile.

"Yeah… it was okay." She seemed to fidget, staring down at her feet for a second. "Oh yeah, I never did get to tell you my name…"

"Oh how rude of me; in my excitement to have you here… I didn't even ask it." Toriel looked sheepish.

"Selenia."

"Such a pretty name." Toriel gave her a motherly smile.

"My… human mom…" She bit her lip for a second. "Named me after the moon… guesses that's why I'm a bit of a LUNA-tic." She joked.

"Oh…" Toriel chuckled softly at the pun.

"So, what are you reading?" Selenia sat her pie on a nearby table, keeping her eyes on her 'mom.'

"Ah well, it's called '72 Uses for Snails'." Selenia gave her a strange look. "Did you know that snails… make terrible shoelaces?" They both giggled at that.

"Someone actually tried that?" Selenia sat by the large chair, looking over the arm into the book, which Toriel turned to show her. "They must really like experimenting with snails then."

"I've tried to test it myself… It's the reason I don't like wearing shoes anymore." The older woman chuckled. "So how are you with schooling?"

"Well, I had graduated high school about three and a half years ago… Not really sure if I want to go to college or even what I'd take if I did go." She rested her head on the chair's arm.

"I've always wanted to be a teacher, myself." Toriel seemed surprised about the girl's age. "You probably could have guessed that though."

"It's a lot of work though, but if you love kids it's the best choice, I suppose." Selenia stared at the floor as a comfortable silence settled upon them. Her thoughts started to roam back to the surface world above them. She would miss a few things about it; like her electronics and the food, and even her stray cat buddy, Jinxie. She felt slightly home sick the more she thought about it.

"Hey, mom?" She broke the silence.

"What is it, my child?" Toriel glanced from the corner of her eye.

"I don't want to offend, or have any misunderstandings… but I'm curious…" Selenia started, swallowing a small lump at the back of her throat." If I wanted to leave, get back to the surface… where would the exit be?" She felt a chill go through her body, and turned her orbs to stare at Toriel, who looked… distressed? "I mean… I don't really want to leave… but…"

"Do you have someone up there waiting for you?" Toriel's voice was soft and strained.

"No… everyone that I cared about up there are gone… mostly my mother." She felt like an icy spear pierced into her heart, and felt her eyes starting to get moist.

"Oh dear… I'm so sorry…" Toriel gently stroked locks of dark hair in a soothing manner.

"Don't worry about it." Selenia wiped at her eyes. "Curiosity just gets the better of me… I want to explore… meet new people and hopefully make some new friends. Though I'm also wondering… If I could do anything to help everyone get to the surface…"

"I won't stop you if you want to leave the ruins and explore… You're old enough to decide for yourself, but I warn you; if you come in contact with ASGORE, run. He will try to take your soul to break the barrier separating us from the surface." Toriel sighed. "Please, just keep in touch, let me know you're okay, and you're always welcome to come back any time you want."

"Thanks mom." She stood and hugged the goat woman around the shoulders, getting misty-eyed once again. "I promise, I'll call you every day."

"I look forward to your calls." Toriel gave a sad smile as she hugged the girl back. "The exit to the ruins is down the stairs in the entry way. Be safe, and stay away from ASGORE."

"Will do, mom." Selenia smiled before letting go of the hug and walking to the table to collect her pie. "Do you have a box or something I can put this in?"

"Of course." Toriel stood, taking off her reading glasses and setting her book in the chair. She moved swiftly to the kitchen, returning with a small folding box. She gently picked up the pie and placed it in the box.

"Thanks again mom, for everything." They hugged once more before Selenia walked off toward the stairs. She took a deep breath before descending down them. She wandered through the long halls before coming to a door that led to another long hallway. The hall opened into another large dark area with a small shaft of light that held that annoying flower.

"Well, lookie here at who's all high and mighty." Flowey had a sneer pasted to his face.

"Not talking to you, la la la." Selenia skipped passed him, the flower shouting profanities at her as she opened the door on the far side of the room. It led out into a snowy forest. She gazed around in wonder, a smile dancing across her lips. The ruins door closed behind her as she started moving forward.

A few minutes pass as she walks and regret about not wearing warmer clothes strikes her hard. It was summer on the surface so she was clad in a tee shirt, shorts and flip-flops. She couldn't feel her toes now. She stepped over a stick in the path, rubbing her arms for warmth. Hearing a snap, she turned back to look at the stick, seeing it was broken in half. A shiver of fear crawled up her spine as she decided to move a little bit faster.

Selenia passed by two closely grown trees and swore she heard a heavy footfall crunch into the snow. "Stop messing with me whoever you are!" She attempted to growl out, but sounded more like a whimper due to her shivering. She stopped at a small bridge, prancing in place to gather more heat when the footsteps started up again.

She froze in place, feeling an ominous presence behind her. The footsteps stopped right behind her. "Human. Don't you know how to greet a new pal?" A deep voice shook her to her very core. "Turn around and shake my hand."

Very slowly, she turned, seeing a hand reaching out to her. She nervously grasped it, not feeling much warmth from it. Then, a loud noise of flatulence caught her off guard, making her draw her hand back to her in a hurry. Before her was a laughing skeleton, clad in a blue jacket with a grey, fur lined hood, basketball shorts and white slippers. In its hand was a small whoopee cushion.

"heheh… the old whoopee cushion in the hand trick. It's always funny." She had to agree with him and chuckle. "anyways, you're a human, right?" He gazed at her with white pinpricks of light in his eye sockets.

"As human as it gets." She replied.

"that's hilarious." He had an ever present grin on his skull. "I'm sans. Sans the skeleton."

"Selenia." She nodded quickly before he could continue onto anything else.

"I'm actually supposed to be on watch for humans right now, but… y'know… I don't really care about capturing anybody." He watched her, lazily.

"Capture?" She questioned.

"now my brother, papyrus… he's a human hunting FANATIC." He glances over her shoulder. "hey, actually, I think that's him over there." He points. She turns herself to look as well. "I have an idea. Go through this gate thingy."

"Wait… these beams are supposed to be a gate?" She glances back at him, an eye brow raised.

"yeah, go right on through. My bro made the bars too wide to stop anyone." She started walking and he followed her lead. "quick, get behind the sentry station and stay low."

Selenia complied with his request, shuffling behind the counter of the wooden structure. Under the counter she came face to face with many different ketchup, mustard, and relish containers; some were empty and some were full. She then peeked over the counter, giving the skeleton a nod.

~So… uh hey =D It's been a really long time since I've posted anything fanfiction related… Yeah so heh, started getting really into Undertale recently so, why not post something about it right? So… I don't really know what else to say here, give me feedback maybe? =D and have a great day! =)


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Selenia nervously bit her lip as she peeked above the counter of the sentry station. There were fast paced footsteps coming from her left side, so she ducked down.

" 'sup, bro?" Sans stood relaxed, gazing up at a taller skeleton.

"YOU KNOW WHAT 'SUP,' BROTHER." The other skeleton was shouting. "IT'S BEEN EIGHT DAYS AND YOU STILL HAVENT… RECALIBRATED. YOUR. PUZZLES! YOU JUST HANG AROUND OUTSIDE YOUR STATION! WHAT ARE YOU EVEN DOING?!"

"staring at this lamp. It's really cool." Sans shrugged his shoulders. "do you wanna look?" At his question, Selenia peeked over the counter, not having noticed the lamp beforehand. It looked a little beat up so she wondered if it even still worked.

"NO! I DON'T HAVE TIME FOR THAT!" The other skeleton, Papyrus she assumed, looked like he was throwing a mini tantrum. He was stomping his foot and waving his arms around erratically. "WHAT IF A HUMAN COMES THROUGH HERE?! I WANT TO BE READY! I WILL BE THE ONE! I MUST BE THE ONE! I WILL CAPTURE A HUMAN!"

She looked over both skeletons as Papyrus rambled on a bit more, taking in their appearances. She and Sans had been about the same height, her being 5'5", whereas the taller one was probably a foot or two taller. She smiled slightly at Papyrus' choice of clothing, a white armor to cover his shoulders and rib cage, a red scarf or cape around his neck. He also wore blue superman like underwear over his pelvic area, red gloves and boots, along with black tight material over his arms and legs. He looked somewhat like a super hero would.

'hmm… maybe there's something behind the counter that will help you." Sans' voice took her out of her thoughts as she ducked back down.

"SANS!" Papyrus started to flail again. "YOU ARE NOT HELPING! YOU LAZYBONES! ALL YOU DO IS SIT AND BOONDOGGLE!" Selenia almost chuckled at the word. "YOU GET LAZIER AND LAZIER EVERY DAY!"

"hey, take it easy." Sans was still calm over his brother's yelling. "I've gotten a ton of work done today." A small pause settled over the two skeletons. "a skele-ton." The shorter of the two started to chuckle, and Selenia had a hard time keeping her own giggling under control.

"SANS!" Papyrus groaned, glaring at his brother.

"come on. You're smiling." Sans turned his pinprick orbs in the direction of the sentry station.

"I AM AND I HATE IT." The taller skeleton sighed. "WHY DOES SOMEONE AS GREAT AS ME… HAVE TO DO SO MUCH JUST TO GET SOME RECOGNITION…"

"wow, sounds like you're really working yourself… down to the bone." Another skeleton pun broke the tension.

A laugh burst out of Selenia before she could contain it. She quickly throws her hands over her mouth, trying to stifle the sound. There was a silence as she calmed down, and she quickly peeked over the counter, coming face to skull with Papyrus.

"SANS! OH MY GOD! IS THIS… A HUMAN?!" She could tell the skeleton was excited.

"uhhh… actually, I think that's a rock." The shorter one glanced to her right, making her turn to that side as well. There was indeed a rock there that wasn't there before.

"OH…" Papyrus seemed let down.

"hey, what's that beside the rock?" They both looked back to her.

"OH MY GOD!" The taller leaned over to his brother. "IS… IS THAT A HUMAN?" He whisper yelled.

"yes."

"OH MY GOD!" He looked so happy, that Selenia had to smile as well. Though, she wondered if Papyrus had never seen a human before this. In her own excitement, she had blocked out the cold, but now it was coming back, making her shiver and rub her arms. Papyrus was still rambling on about finding a human, but Sans had his eye lights on her, a hint of concern on his expression. He nudged his brother, pointing toward the human.

"Are humans supposed to change color?" Papyrus stared at her, finally lowering his volume.

"N-no." Selenia answered for herself before staring down at her arms. They were very pale with a slight hint of blue around the edges. "C… c-cold." She continued to shiver.

"OH NO!" The volume was back, and she cringed at his loud voice. "WHAT DO WE DO?"

"gotta get the kid some place warm." Sans finally spoke up.

"Warm… warm…" Papyrus was deep in thought. "NYEH-HEH!" he raised a gloved hand to the sky, pointing. "OUR HOUSE IS WARM!" He also pulled off his scarf, wrapping it about the human's face and neck. She was confused at first, before she felt the warmth from the material.

"can you stand, kid?" She looked to Sans before leveraging herself up using the counter. "you really weren't prepared for the cold, huh?"

"Didn't… ex-ex-expect cold." Selenia continued to shiver, but her face felt some of the chill leave thanks to the scarf. "Pap… Papyru…"

"Yes human?" He also had a concerned look on his features.

"Thank… you…" She pulled on the scarf slightly, to indicate the meaning to her words.

"NO THANKS NECESSARY! ALL IN A DAYS WORK FOR THE GREAT PAPYRUS!" He 'Nyeh-heh-heh-heh'd' a few times, an orange dust blossoming on his cheek bones at her praise, which made her giggle.

"alright, come on. I know a short cut to the house." Sans pulled the other two with him, walking at a fast pace toward the surrounding forest. A few minutes passed and they were on the outskirts of a small town.

"WELCOME, HUMAN, TO SNOWDIN!" Papyrus shouted, making her jump just a bit. They led her through the town, coming to a two story house on the other side of it. "AND WELCOME TO OUR HOME." He opened the door and pushed her through before forcing her to sit on a green couch.

"go grab a few blankets, pap. I'll keep an eye socket on her." Sans sat beside her on the couch.

"GOOD IDEA, BROTHER! I CAN ALSO MAKE HER SOME SPAGHETTI!" With that Papyrus rushed off.

"He's… eccentric…" Selenia smiled, though shivers were still passing through her being.

"yeah he's the coolest." She looked over at him, seeing nothing but affection in his skeletal features. Her eyes were starting to grow heavy on her, dozing before quickly sitting up straight. "hey, kid, don't fall asleep." Immediate concern washed over him.

"But… sleepy…" Her eyes continued to close, fluttering every now and again.

"don't do it." He prodded her side with two of his fingers, earning a mix of a shriek and a squeal. She was instantly back awake as she turned to glare at him.

"No. That's a no." Her voice was hard; he only grinned back at her.

"HUMAN! BROTHER! I RETURN WITH BLANKETS!" Papyrus rushed down the stairs, quickly coming over to the two. He threw one blanket around her legs and another around her torso. He also pulled out a thick pair of socks, sliding them over her slightly blue toes. "THERE! YOU SHOULD BE WARM IN NO TIME, HUMAN!" He then bounded off to cheerily start making spaghetti.

Selenia curled herself into the blankets, feeling the chill start to wane. "Can I sleep now?" Her voice was muffled, due to the scarf and blanket.

'heh, knock yourself out, kid." Sans also sunk into the green couch. She chuckled slightly before finally closing her eyes and drifting off into a peaceful slumber. Sans watched her sleep for a while, his mind racing. This was the first time this human had ever shown up in the timelines, and it confused him greatly. He would definitely have to keep a close watch on her and see what would transpire from her presence.

She woke up a while later, feeling extremely warm, and very uncomfortable in said warmth. Wiggling a bit to free her arms from the cocoon of blankets, she gazed at her surroundings in a sleep ridden haze. Everything looked like a perfectly normal living room, except for the lone sock and line of sticky notes beside it.

Selenia struggled free from the remnants of the cocoon, relishing the feel of cool air on her skin. She stood with a stretch, many joints popping to her pleasure. "that sounded terrible." The voice came from up the stairs; she turned her eyes up to the shorter of the skeleton brothers, who had a grimace on his features.

"It's pretty normal actually." She watched him thoughtfully. "Though since you're, well… a skeleton, it's a kind of different perspective."

"yeah, we don't pop like that." He looked curious.

"It's hard to explain, since you don't have flesh or muscle." She chuckled. "It just has to deal with tendons or ligaments moving, or gasses escaping the area in between the joints." She had remembered one of her internet searches on the subject of popping joints. She lifted her arm, pushing it forward, the elbow popping in her effort. "Like that."

"so… is it just a human thing or?"

"Well on the surface anything I guess with muscles and such can pop and groan at times. Normally you just hear the big pops and stuff from humans though." A sheepish smile crossed her lips.

"HUMAN! YOU ARE AWAKE!" Papyrus called out from the kitchen. "I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS, HAVE ALMOST FINESHED WITH THE SPAGHETTI PREPARATIONS!" She dropped her gaze from Sans, meandering over to where she guessed the kitchen was and took a peek inside. It was normal, mostly; the only thing out of place was the sink and cabinet that almost reached the ceiling. The taller skeleton looked toward her. "ARE YOU FEELING BETTER?"

"Very much, thank you both." Selenia spoke loud enough so that both could hear her.

"no problem, kid." She jumped at Sans' appearance by her side. How had she not heard him moving? A lazy grin greeted her reaction.

"THE SPAGHETTI IS READY!" Papyrus pushed a plate into her arms, doing the same to his brother. The pasta didn't look too bad to her eyes, but the smell that came from it made her nervous. She slowly rolled some up on her fork and took a bite. Her face scrunched up, though she tried to play it off on the food tasting good. "AH! YOU DO ENJOY IT!" The taller skeleton had fallen for it.

"Yeah, it's very good." Selenia hated herself just a bit, for as she looked at it, there were tiny little anchovy heads staring back at her from the sauce. "Maybe we can trade some cooking tips sometime?" She smiled, nervously.

"OF COURSE! I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS, WOULD LOVE TO SHOW AND TRADE COOKING IDEAS!" His eye sockets seemed to sparkle at the thought. She continued to politely eat a few more bites before declaring she was full. Sans took her plate, and his empty one, which she stared at with wide eyes, to throw into the tall sink.

"go on and make yourself at home." The shorter brother prompted.

"Alright…" She fidgeted with the scarf still wrapped around her neck. She had to admit she was curious about the brothers, but decided against asking anything due to not wanting to be rude.

Selenia moved back into the living room, to the couch. She fixed the blankets, putting a folded one onto each arm and sitting down awkwardly. She pulled the scarf from around her neck, gently turning it over in her hands and noticing a few holes in it. She saw that as it being well loved and smiled at the thought.

Feeling a shift beside her, she looked to see Sans had come in and plopped down beside her again. She bit her lip, "Um… thanks again for not letting me become a popsicle."

" _snow_ problem." His ever present grin seemed to grow. She could only chuckle at the pun, where there was a groan of disappointment from the kitchen where Papyrus was.

" _Tibia_ honest," She grinned, "that wasn't very _punny_."

"OH NO, NOT YOU TOO, HUMAN!" Papyrus shouted, earning a laugh from her and Sans.

"Sorry they're not tickling your funny bone, Papyrus." She apologized, and earned another groan and laugh. The taller brother came in and sat on her other side, picking up the remote and flicking through channels until he came to a cooking one with a robot host. She took the scarf in her hands, and threw it around Papyrus' neck, gently wrapping it back around for him.

"Thanks again for letting me borrow it. It's a really nice scarf." Selenia watched as an orange glow dusted his cheek bones.

"ALL IN A-A DAYS WORK FOR THE GREAT PAPYRUS!" He actually stuttered over a few of the words. The trio sat in silence as the T.V. show continued to play. She noticed that Papyrus was starting to doze and jerk back awake a few times.

She nudged at Sans with her elbow, gaining his attention. She motioned toward his brother, a soft smile gracing her lips. "alright, paps, time to get you to bed." The shorter skeleton heaved himself up off the couch, looking toward his brother.

"But… but the show isn't over…" Papyrus finally used his indoor voice, though it was riddled with sleep.

"it'll be on rerun when you wake up, bro." Sans helped his brother to his feet, then up the stairs. "which story do you want tonight?"

"Peek-a-boo with Fluffy Bunny?" Was the mumbled reply. "Oh, goodnight, human!" Papyrus turned, giving her a sleepy smile.

"Good night, Papyrus." Selenia smiled back, giving a little wave. Once the brothers were out of sight in Papyrus' room, she pulled out her cell phone from her pocket. She looked it over before dialing Toriel's number and holding it to her ear.

After a few rings, there was a click and a yawn heard from the other end. "Hello, this is Toriel."

"Hi, mom." She smiled, listening to Toriel rustle around in her bed.

"Oh, hello, my child." Her voice perked up.

"I didn't mean to wake you if you were sleeping. I just wanted to check in; let you know I'm safe." Selenia bit at her thumb nail.

"Do not worry about it! I am glad to know you are safe." Toriel's voice held relief. "Have you met anyone interesting?"

"Yeah, two skeletons, brothers. They're so nice." She smiled, thinking about if she should tell Toriel she had almost froze. She decided against that. "Anyway, I should let you get back to sleep. I'll check in a bit earlier tomorrow."

"Alright, my child. Have a good night."

"You too, mom." With that she ended the call, staring down at the phone for a few moments in thought.

"mom, huh?" She jumped at the sudden voice as Sans seemed to just appear in front of her.

"Um... yeah…" She looked down, smoothing her thumbs over the phone in nervousness.

"she's the old lady in the ruins?" He tapped the toe of his slippers on the floor, as if dislodging a pebble from between his toe bones.

"You know her?" She was interested now.

"you could say that." He moved to sit back down on the couch beside her. "We're joke buddies." He shrugged.

"You've never seen her face to face, have you?" She watched his face closely.

"Nah, just some jokes through the door, mostly knock-knock ones." His smile was fond.

"She's a lovely goat woman." He seemed to freeze. "Huh? What's the matter?" She was concerned she had overstepped her bounds.

"n-nothing, kid…" She didn't quite believe him. There was something about Toriel he knew and wasn't telling her. She decided to just shrug it off and ask the goat woman more about herself some other time.

"So… um…" She kind of felt like she had over stayed her welcome. "Is there an inn or something I can go crash at around here?"

"oh? Our couch too lumpy for you?" Sans' normal grin was back, though a little tight.

"Nothing like that at all." Selenia fidgeted, awkwardly. "I just don't want to, you know, be rude and over stay."

"don't worry about it. Paps was actually hoping you would still be here so he could make more spaghetti." He winked her way, which begged the question on how a skeleton could wink in the first place.

"He's a real sweet heart from what I've seen." She chuckled softly. "I'll see if I can help improve his cooking though."

"yeah, that would be great." Sans yawned, looking to his wrist at a nonexistent watch. "well, it's late, should be getting some sleep." He stood with some difficulty before moving to the stairs.

"Alright, have a good sleep, Sans." She watched him ascend, and he paused glancing back at her.

"I'll try." He was quiet; she barely heard the words. She watched him continue onto the second door on the upper level of the house before she was alone with her thoughts.

She turned off the T.V. and settled herself to lay with her upper back resting on the arm of the green couch. Recounting the events of the day, or at least what she thought was a day; she had fallen into the underground world filled with monsters. One monster was a tiny yellow flower with a craving for blood lust, another sweet goat woman that she happily called 'mom.' Then there were these two skeletal brothers, one short, one tall, who saved her from freezing to death and opened their home to her.

Selenia smiled to herself, her eyes feeling heavy as she played through the memories. Maybe, not everyone in the world was bad, and she just needed to fall out of human society to find out where she was happiest. With that thought, sleep claimed her.

A/N: Hello lovelies =) Second part is out! Yay! Already working on the next part as well! So I hope you enjoy and feel free to leave suggestions, criticisms whatever =) Have a great day!


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

~WARNING! This chapter contains cursing! Otherwise, enjoy!~

Selenia woke slowly, very grateful to not be jolting awake for once since she reached the underground. Her eyes slowly adjusted to her surroundings as she blinked away sleep. Papyrus was sitting in front of the T.V., watching the show he had missed the most of the night before. She flexed out her legs, curling her toes and feeling an odd lump at the pads of her feet, she must have kicked off the heavy socks at one point. Her gaze drifts over to find Sans sitting there, her feet pressed up against his leg.

He was giving her a mischievous smile before running his phalanges over her toes, earning a yelp and a kick to the femur. "No." She pulled her legs to her chest, glaring at the skeleton who only chuckled in amusement.

"Human!" Papyrus was instantly drawn away from his show at the sound of her voice, and he wasn't as loud as normal. "Good morning! Did you sleep well?"

"As good as I could on a lumpy couch." She smirked towards Sans, recalling their talk from last night.

"Are you in discomfort?" There was concern in the taller brother's voice. "I apologize for the couch."

"No, no it's fine." She gave him a soft smile. "It was the perfect kind of lumpy for me." For some reason, she did not want to see the excitable skeleton sad. Though there was an odd crick in her back because of how she slept, he didn't need to know about it.

"Wonderful!" He turned back to watch his show, holding a throw pillow close to his chest.

She stood slowly, placing her hands on her lower back and pushing, making it pop a few times. She received a minute glare from Sans, but Papyrus didn't seem to care. "Would you guys mind if I raided your kitchen?" She was definitely feeling a void in her in her stomach for not eating much dinner.

"For what reason would you need to raid the kitchen though?" Papyrus seemed confused, the look on his face too precious.

"It's an n expression… and I kind of want to make you guys breakfast for letting me stay overnight." The brothers both looked ready to protest. "Please, just let me do this for all the things you did for me yesterday."

"But you are the guest…" The taller brother was still reluctant, an uncertain look on his face.

"If you want to help you're more than welcome to do so. I mean, it is your kitchen after all." Selenia smiled, seeing his face light up.

"are you even old enough to be cooking?" Sans finally seemed to interject his thoughts, to which she raised a hand to her forehead and sighed.

"What is it with everyone down here thinking I'm so young?" Her eyes were closed in irritation.

"you're wearing stripes." He stated, looking over her clothes.

"Yeah? What about it?" She looked down at her own pale, blue and green striped tank top.

"it's a common thing for kids down here to wear striped clothes to show they're kids." He shrugged.

"Oh wow… huh, guess I really should have worn something different then." She chuckled. "Above it's just about normal for anyone of any age to wear stripes." She thought for a brief moment. "What about polka dots?" They both gave her a strange look. "Um… never mind, how about that breakfast?" She quickly, and somewhat awkwardly, scurried off into the kitchen.

Selenia looked about a few of the cabinets, not finding much of anything besides spaghetti noodles. Under the tall sink were a large amount of bones and some cleaning supplies; she was curious of the bones but decided it was not best to ask about it. She then decided to check the fridge, and let a hand come up to hit her in the forehead. There were many Tupperware containers, all filled with spaghetti and a half empty bag of chips. There were of course a few other things, half dozen eggs, milk, peppers, onions, tomatoes, and a few other things she didn't know the names of.

"HUMAN, ARE YOU FINDING EVERYTHING TO YOUR LIKING?" Outdoor voice was back, making her jump at the words. She turned to look back at Papyrus.

"Oh… well yeah." She bit her bottom lip. "How partial are you and Sans to omlettes?"

"OMLETTES? IS THAT ANOTHER WORD FOR SPAGHETTI?" He was confused, yet excited.

"Um… no. It's an egg based breakfast food." Was everything spaghetti with this skeleton? She pulled out the eggs, an onion, a pepper, tomato and a half stick of butter.

"OH…" He seemed skeptical now.

"Don't worry; just leave most of it to me." She smiled. "Get me two bowls, a frying pan, spatula, and a knife? Oh and salt and pepper if you have that, please?" She placed everything on the counter, the skeleton doing the same as he grabbed the items she asked for. She had to move once due to the utensil drawer being where she sat everything.

She looked everything over for a second, noticing he had grabbed a butter knife instead. "Ah, I'm going to need a sharper knife than that, especially for the vegetables."

"SORRY!" Papyrus quickly apologized, fixing his mistake.

"Perfect!" She took a deep breath and exhaled slowly. "Let's get down to business, shall we?" She smiled.

Sans was a bit on edge when she asked for the knife, watching them from the shadows. He would almost be hyper ventilating, if he had lungs, and was very nervous. Would this human try to do anything while the knife was in her possession? He would surely have to keep his eye on her.

Selenia finished cutting up the vegetables and scooped them into a bowl with the knife before setting it down. She then cracked the eggs open into the other one. "Can you turn the stove on to low for me?" Papyrus had been intently watching her as she worked, and gave a little salute as he did what was asked of him. "Thank you!" She pulled a small whisk from the drawer, beating the eggs.

The rest of the cooking went by smoothly and she plated the omlettes with little difficulty. She handed a plate to Papyrus and turned to pick up the other two. "Sans, food's on!" She turned back and almost dropped the plates with a yelp. Sans had appeared by her left side in about the time she had to blink. "Holy shit!" She glared over at him.

"heh, sorry, didn't mean to scare you… out of your skin, kid." He joked, earning a groan from his brother. She roughly handed him his plate in response before taking to her own.

"HUMAN! THIS OMLETTE IS GOOD! THOUGH, IT IS NOT AS GREAT AS MY SPAGHETTI!" Papyrus continued to eat happily, oblivious to the slight tension.

"Thanks." She ate quickly and quietly after that, just listening to the brothers chat. She finished her food and looked up to the looming sink. "How do you guys even reach the sink?" She started to gather up all of the dirty cook ware.

"AH! THERE IS A PULL OUT STAIR CASE UNDER IT!" Papyrus showed her, and she thanked him, taking his empty plate and ascending the stairs. "OH, YOU DON'T HAVE TO CLEAN UP."

"Mmm… don't worry about it. I just want to help out." She came back down to get another arm full of dishes, grabbing the knife last.

"you should really let one of us clean up." Sans' voice startled her again, his eye lights were smaller than normal and voice a bit more gruff.

"And I said don't worry about it." You boys go and relax." Selenia was being just a bit stubborn, and was slightly agitated about Sans' randomly popping up beside her. She took the dishes up the stairs, dropping them in the sink and running water over them.

Papyrus went off to go patrol his normal route, leaving her alone with the shorter brother. He was watching her like a hawk, only seeming to agitate her further.

"You know, I'm not going to fall, drop your plates or randomly burst into flames and die, right?" Her voice was harsh.

"or stab anyone?" Sans' voice was low, strained even. She turned to look back at him for a second, noticing how dim his eye lights were.

"Literally? No. In my head though, yes." She sent him another glare.

"because if you so much as hurt Papyrus," She dropped the frying pan back into the sink, the crash causing him to stop talking.

"Jesus fucking Christ, Sans!" She was very exasperated with the skeleton at this point. "If I was going to murder you guys I would have done it while you slept." She turned to glare at him before lowering herself to sit on the stairs. Putting her head in her hands, she exhaled sharply. "I'm not going to kill anyone, especially not Papyrus. He's too kind and innocent for me to just off him like he's not worth anything to anyone." She felt hot angry tears coming to her eyes.

"I'm not a fucking murderer, Sans." She spat. With that, Selenia stood and hurried off the stairs. She passed him on the way to the door, keeping her eyes forward. She tore out of the house and to her left, making a bee line out into the thick snow and into a different cavern.

The skeleton watched her go, a cyan mist flowing from his left eye socket and a bright light of the same color engulfing it. He blinked a few times and the magic diminished, his white eye lights returning to normal. The woman had not been lying to him, which was certain in her reaction; the tears had been a dead giveaway that he had royally fucked up though. He growled to himself, an almost feral sound, before deciding to take a 'short cut' to one of his telescopes in Waterfall.

Selenia trudged through the area, the sounds of rushing water filling her ears. A few monsters had tried to approach her, but decided it was best to leave her to her own devices. She didn't mean to seem rude to them, and apologized for her foul mood multiple times. She came to a small, clear area and threw herself back against the rough cavern wall. She winced, irritating her back at the contact, but slowly slid down with one of her knees drawn to her chest.

Wiping the angry tears from her face, she sighed, pulling her cell phone from her pocket. She decided to call Toriel, to see if the goat woman's voice would help calm her. "Hello, this is Toriel."

"Hi, mom." Selenia let a slow breath pass her lips.

"Hello, my child, how are you?"

"Not too good actually." She sighed. "I kind of got into an argument with one of those skeletons I told you about last night."

"Oh no, what happened?" Toriel sounded genuinely worried.

"He thought I was going to murder his brother or something of the sort; all because I was using a knife to cook for them." She rested a hand over the left side of her face, feeling a headache coming on.

"Not to be rude, but it just sounds like he's being really paranoid." Toriel's voice was off in some way.

"He just really cares about his brother. He's just making sure that he's safe." She sighed again. "I don't blame him though; if I had a sibling I'd be really protective as well."

"You're a sweet girl; you should talk to him about it." Motherly advice was just what she needed, and she felt a powerful surge of determination ripple through her being.

"Yeah, you're right, mom." She finally let a small smile grace her lips. "Thanks for talking with me on such short notice."

"It is no problem at all, my child." Toriel's voice sounded relieved.

"I was also curious though," She paused for a second. "Do you have someone tell you bad jokes through the door on occasion?"

"Oh, well yes." The goat woman chuckled.

"That would be the skeleton I just had a fight with." Selenia laughed humorlessly.

"Oh… oh my… Next time he shows up here he is getting a stern talking to!" She chuckled at the 'mother hen' coming out in Toriel. "How is his brother?"

"He is the sweetest, most innocent little, well tall, cinnamon roll I have ever met. Though, he is a bit loud." Another smile crossed the young woman's lips. "I should probably be getting back to their house and talk things through now though. I'll talk to you later?"

"Of course, my child. Good luck!" With that they disconnected the call. Selenia pushed herself up and started the trek back to the brother's home, now kind of wishing a bit more that she had some warmer clothes. She would have to see if there was a clothes store in Snowdin at some point.

She was almost back to the brother's home when a ringing echoed from her pocket. Pulling the phone out, unknown number blinked across the screen. She hesitated before answering, "H-hello?"

"HUMAN!" Well, there went her hearing again. "WHERE HAVE YOU GONE? AND WHERE IS SANS?"

"I'm a few steps away from the house, by the entrance to the waterfall cave. Sans is gone as well?" She was surprised at that.

"I would have thought he would have been showing you around Snowdin…" Papyrus' tone was lower, slight worry seeping through.

"Don't worry, he's probably just cooling off. We kinda got into an argument after you left." She was now standing outside of the house. "Hey, I'm outside, we can talk face to face now." She shivered, feeling the snow between her toes because she forgot her flip flops.

Papyrus was out the door and ushering her inside in a matter of seconds. He once again sat her down on the couch and sat beside her, wanting to know what had transpired in his absence. She told him minor details, just to wait for Sans to get back to relay the whole story. She didn't feel right telling the tall skeleton about his brother's actions without said skeleton being there to give his side of the story.

Sans rubbed at his eye sockets, feeling tired. He had come to his telescope to stare up at the sparkling crystals on the cavern's ceiling. Watching them for a while always helped to calm him down. He had thought about what the human said, and maybe it was just his paranoia about sharp objects that set him off. She was just too kind hearted to be a killer.

'maybe,' he thought, 'I should get the kid something to tell her I'm sorry.' He remembered there was a tailor up near the river in Snowdin; maybe they would have some warmer clothes he could get for her? His ever present grin perked up as he 'took a short cut' back to Snowdin.

Selenia and Papyrus were each curled up under a blanket, a bowl of popcorn sat between them. They were watching one of the robot's, who she now knew as Mettaton, movies. It was pretty cheesy, in her tastes, but she was slowly starting to get into it. It reminded her a bit of Romeo and Juliette, but with a monster and robot in their respective roles. She saw that Papyrus was also into it, though probably more so for his favorite actor, which was Mettaton.

She couldn't help but laugh at one of the very cheesy lines, making the skeleton smack her arm with his cuddle buddy for a throw pillow. She grabbed one herself and whacked him back. He glared at her, a playful gleam in his eye sockets. "COMMENCE THE PILLOW FIGHT!" He called.

"Oh you're on!" she bit out before she was smacked. They were both laughing as they discarded the blankets, beating each other silly with the poor, soft pillows. The bowl of popcorn was knocked to the floor, Papyrus whacking her with reckless abandon.

"THE GREAT PAPYRUS IS THE BEST AT PILLOW FIGHTING!" He declared, whacking her a few more times before she turned it to her advantage.

"Oh ho, young skeleton! It is I, Selenia, the pillow fight master, you are up against!" She used her best impression of an old, stereotypical karate master as she fought back.

Sans had a grin on his face as he walked up to the house. He thought he had picked out an awesome outfit for the human. He took a glance through the window, seeing two silhouettes beating the tar out of one another. One of them was definitely his brother; the other had to be the human. He hurried up the front stairs and quickly opened the door.

The shorter skeleton was met by a pop and feathers flying everywhere. The two were laughing hard and didn't seem to notice his presence right away, lost in a world of feathers and fun. He cleared his throat, or at least made the sound to, making them freeze.

"BROTHER!" Papyrus greeted almost instantly, orange dusting his cheeks out of embarrassment about being caught pillow fighting. "WELCOME HOME!" he threw up his arms, holding up an almost empty pillow, making it expel more feathers.

Selenia had her back to the door, but turned around quickly. Her face was red, both with heat from the pillow fight and embarrassment about being caught like this. Feathers coated her dark hair, making her look almost like an old woman. "Um, hi Sans." She grinned sheepishly, definitely in a better mood.

"what did that poor pillow ever do to you?" Sans was all smiles, seeing his brother happy made him happy.

"It wanted to put me… under a-rest." She couldn't help herself, and the bad pun wasn't even enough to deflate Papyrus.

"that one was pretty good, kid." The shorter brother chuckled. The 'fighters' slowly came down from their fun induced high, the three settling back onto the couch. They settled down, Sans in between his brother and the human. It was a tense silence, no one knowing how to break it.

"Brother?" Papyrus started, using his indoor voice.

"sup, paps?" Sans tilted his head in the taller skeleton's direction.

"Why did you and the human argue?" He seemed almost timid.

"well…" he rubbed the back of his skull. "I thought she may try to hurt us with a knife."

"You were just being protective." Selenia interrupted.

"yeah, but I had no right to accuse you of doing that at all." He sighed.

"I'd do the same if I was in your position, you know?" She bit her lip. "So I hold nothing against you for trying to protect yourself and your brother."

"why did you get so angry about it?" His voice was soft.

"I got a bit irritated because you kept popping up on my left side whenever I was doing something. It only escalated when you talked about me… murdering people." She shivered involuntarily. "Someone very close to me was…" She bit her lip to hold back an oncoming sob.

"Human, you don't have to talk about it if you do not want to." Papyrus stopped her, concern on his features.

"Thank you." Her words were soft.

"but we're here if you want to talk." Sans supplied.

"Yes, it is what friends are for." The taller brother reached over and patted her knee.

"Friends?" She looked up at the two, tears glittering in her visible right eye.

"we don't have to be friends if it's gonna upset you."

"No, no that's not it." She brought a hand up to wipe away the tears. "I just haven't had any real friends in a very long time… I'd like that."

"THEN WE SHALL BE THE BEST OF FRIENDS!" And outdoor voice was back. "I SHALL MAKE SOME FRIENDSHIP SPAGHETTI TO CELEBRATE!" Papyrus was instantly off to the kitchen.

"Such an innocent little cinnamon roll." Selenia chuckled at the taller brother's excitement. "Too pure for this world."

"you can say that again." Sans joined with a small laugh of his own.

"I'm sorry for getting mad at you."

"I'm sorry for calling you what I did."

"Friends?" She held out her hand to him.

"friends." Sans took her hand in his and shook on it. "uh, by the way, I have something for you."

"Oh?" She was surprised. She watched him pull the bag he brought home with him from between his feet. He handed it to her, a very faint blue coloring his cheek bones.

"thought you could use some warmer clothes so…" He rubbed the back of his skull as she opened the bag. She pulled out a dark violet, long sleeved shirt, a dark gray skirt with matching knee high socks and a pair of dark brown combat boots. "I know they're not the best, may be a little too big or small…" He froze as the woman enveloped him in a friendly hug.

"They're perfect. Thank you so much!" He shyly patted her back before she released him, noticing his cheek bones were a few shades darker now. "Hey, Paps, give me a few minutes and I'll come help you out!" She called to the spaghettatore.

"ALRIGHT, HUMAN! PREPARE TO BE AMAZED!" He yelled back.

"Oh, by the way," Selenia was talking to Sans again, "where's the bathroom so I can change?"

"end of the hall, beside my room." His voice was softer now.

"Thanks again." She smiled at him before standing with her new clothes in hand to head up to the bathroom. She quickly changed and freshened up, looking herself over in the mirror. She quickly pulled her hair back over to cover the left side of her face and headed downstairs to help papyrus.

The noodles were on and boiling a bit high, so she very quickly turned the heat down before he could notice. She then saw his spice selection, one of the shakers filled with multicolored glitter. "I'm here." She grimaced toward the glitter. "Are… you going to put this in?" She picked the container up, shaking it lightly.

"OF COURSE! LIKE IN ALL OF THE COOK BOCKS IT HAS A SHOWER OF SOMETHING SHINEY ON TOP!" He was still using his outdoor voice.

"Oh boy…" She bit her lip. "You mean the little white flakes?"

"YES THAT!"

"That would be, my fine skeletal friend, parmesan cheese, not glitter." She tried to smile.

"OHHHH!" He seemed awed at her revelation about the 'shiny' stuff.

"You wouldn't happen to have any, would you?" She kind of felt the need to take over the cooking for him, just to get things set up correctly.

"I THINK WE HAVE SOME AROUND HERE SOMEWHERE…" He went off to start searching, to which she stepped in, taking a small taste of the sauce he had started preparing. It was sadly, very bland. She added a bit of basil, oregano, and some garlic powder, mixing it well before tasting it again. "FOUND IT!" She quickly stepped away, turning toward his voice at the door way. Sans was leaned against the arch, and gave her a small wink when her gaze fell upon him, having noticed she was subtly trying to help his brother.

"I made sure your sauce didn't burn." She turned to smile sweetly at Papyrus.

"R-REALLY?" Orange dusted his cheekbones. "THANK YOU FOR BEING VILIGANT!"

"No problem." The cooking continued, and she reluctantly, had to step in a few more times about some of the things he wanted to add to the sauce, like pine needles. She told him they could make a tea out of those instead.

The night carried on as normal; the spaghetti turned out pretty good compared to most of Papyrus' other attempts. They cleaned up all the mess they made, from both cooking and the pillow fight and watched another of Mettaton's shows. She fell asleep before the show was over, so Sans covered her with a blanket before turning off the T.V. and taking Papyrus and himself off to bed as well.

A/N~ There you have it, chapter 3 complete =D I know there's a bit to take in with this chapter, but hey turned out ok =D I'm not even going to go into how much time I spent looking up 'How to make an omlette' 'how to make spaghetti sauce' or 'are pine needles poisonous.' All in all, it helped though! Anyway the end! Have a great day everyone! =D


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

A few days passed and things were going well for the trio. Papyrus' cooking had gotten way better with helpful tips from his human friend. He honestly couldn't wait to show Undyne how much he had improved! He had invited her over for dinner that night in his excitement.

"Um…" Selenia spoke up as the trio were watching another of Mettaton's movies. "Who is Undyne?"

"UNDYNE IS CAPTAIN OF THE ROYAL GUARD! SHE IS ALSO A DEAR FRIEND!" Papyrus happily answered.

"And she's coming here, tonight, for dinner?" She seemed just a tad anxious.

"OF COURSE!"

"Um… Paps?"

"YES, HUMAN?"

"Aren't the royal guard supposed to, you know, capture any human on sight and take them to the king?" She was shaking slightly from her seat between the brothers.

"WELL YES… OH… OH NO!" The taller skeleton started to panic as well. "I HAVE BEEN FOOLISH!"

"hey, it's alright, bro. I'll take the kid out tonight to Grillby's while you and undyne catch up, no sweat." Sans finally spoke up.

"UGH, THAT GREASY PLACE?" Papyrus had already calmed down enough.

"Isn't that the bar down the street?" She asked, having actually never been there herself as of yet.

"THAT WOULD BE THE PLACE." Papyrus groaned. "BUT TO KEEP YOU SAFE, MY DEAR FRIEND, IT WILL HAVE TO DO."

"As long as no drunkards try to make a move on me, I'll be fine." She smiled slightly.

"don't worry, kid. You're gonna be with me so no one's gonna mess with you." A smirk was on the shorter skeleton's face. He and the woman had taken up a teasing war, seeing who could make the other blush more. She was blushing the tiniest bit.

"Oh, of course, Sansy-pansy." She sing songed and fluttered her visible eye's lashes in his direction. "You always make me feel so safe and comfortable in the direst of situations." Now it was his turn to blush, blue brightening his cheekbones. "I win this round!" She laughed.

"a-anyway, paps, when is Undyne supposed to be here?" Sans diverted the topic.

"OH…" He glanced up at the clock, his eye sockets bugging out. "TEN MINUTES FROM NOW!"

"shit, we gotta go, kid!" Sans pulled the human up with him. "Give one of us a call when she leaves! We'll see you later!" Moving as quickly as the lazy skeleton could without 'taking a short cut' he dragged her out of the door before she could even say good bye to Papyrus. They moved down the street at a steady pace, Sans' hand still attached to her wrist in a death grip.

"Sans?" Selenia bit her lip; he seemed to not notice the pain he was causing her. "Sans!" She shouted, making him stop and turn back to her. His eye lights were almost nonexistent. "You can let go now, it's kinda starting to hurt."

"Oh, shit, sorry." He quickly released her, but continued moving to the bar, her trailing behind him.

"It's fine, just calm down." She gently took his hand and squeezed it in a reassuring manner before dropping it again.

"how can I not worry though? If undyne were to see you she would not hesitate to kill you and take your soul in an instant." He was shaking only the tiniest fraction.

"I wouldn't let her." Determination sky rocketed through the human as she spoke. "Now, let's not worry and enjoy our little 'date' at the bar." He was blushing again. "Round two today goes to me." She laughed, making him grumble.

The duo made it to the bar a few moments later, Sans throwing open the door. There was a round of monsters cheering his name. Selenia shut the door behind her as he went to talk to a few of his tavern buddies. He then motioned her over to the bar, where he plopped down on a stool. She sat beside him, a sound of flatulence ripping through the air.

"Sans!" She complained, pulling the whoopee cushion from under her rear and throwing it at him, an embarrassed blush pinking her cheeks.

"you gotta watch where you sit in here, kid. Some comedian likes to put whoopee cushions on the chairs." He winked over at her. "by the way, this round is mine."

"O-oh fuck off." His grin only widened at her words. A soft crackling sound drew both their attentions to the fire monster behind the bar.

"yo, grillbz." Sans greeted the bartender. He received a snapping reply. "Yeah the usual for me, kid, what do you want?"

"Um… uh…" Her eyes were open wide at the tall, dapperly dressed flame monster. "Vodka on the rocks?" She croaked out.

"Are you old enough to drink, human?" the sudden burst of sound ringing in her mind startled her.

"Huh? Telepathy?" She questioned.

"Correct. Now are you old enough to drink?" The voice was deep and soothing.

"Twenty-one is the legal age for humans to drink, so yes." She could hardly register what words were flowing from her mouth.

"Alright." A deep baritone laugh resonated in her mind. "Vodka on the rocks it is then." With that, the flaming man stepped away to prepare their order.

"Ho-lee shit." She felt overwhelmed.

"heh, should have told you that was the way grillbz communicates." Sans chuckled at her reaction.

"No kidding?" She raised a brow at him. "It's pretty sweet." Grillby returned with their order, two bottles of pure ketchup for Sans and her vodka. They thanked him and he went back to checking on his other customers. "So hey, can you tell me more about Undyne? I mean, I know what Papyrus told me about her, but I kinda want a less 'hero worship' side to it."

"sure, kid." He chuckled. "you already know she's the head of the royal guard, trained by the King himself." She was watching him closely, sipping on her drink. "Very passionate in whatever she does, almost burned down the kitchen a few times when teaching paps how to cook."

"If she didn't want to, you know," She drew a finger across her neck, "I bet we could be friends."

"I don't doubt that." Sans popped the top off of one of the ketchup bottles, taking a swig. He waited for her to say something about it, but she just seemed to shrug it off. "not gonna get squeamish about me drinking this stuff?"

"Not really; I've watched internet videos on the surface of humans eating more disgusting things than just ketchup." She smirked over at him. "Do you know what ipecac is?" She watched him shake his head. "It's a medicine used to induce vomiting." His eye sockets widened. "Yeah, humans are stupid enough to drink it and make themselves puke all over the place."

"Shit." Sans shook his head.

"If we ever get to the surface, I'm totally showing you some of these videos." She grinned.

"I think I'll pass on that." He laughed, starting a laughing fit between the two. "What other kind of videos are there?"

Selenia happily started to tell him about the many videos she's seen, from makeup tutorials, to kids being cute and even some of the more morbid ones. He was interested in every word she was saying, and randomly interjected some questions now and again. She would answer the best way she knew how.

"what do stars look like?" He had by now downed both of his bottles, and she was only on her second glass.

"Huh… I don't really know how to explain them honestly." She took a glance at his face and instantly regretted her words. "I can try to explain it though. Close your eyes." He looked skeptical but did it anyway. "Now, just imagine tons and tons of little lights appearing one by one in the dark, getting brighter and brighter the darker it gets. Some have tiny specs of color, like red, blue and orange flashing through them."

"oh… wow…" His voice was soft and full of awe.

"That's the best way I can explain it." He opened his eyes, seeing her smiling at him. "Not really as good as the real thing though." Her finger was fiddling with the small stirrer in her drink.

They sat and talked for a few moments before she felt her phone buzzing in her pocket. "It's Paps." She quickly flipped it open, putting it on speaker and holding it between them. "Pap? Everything okay?" The sound of heavy breathing reached both of them, worrying the two.

"HUMAN!" Papyrus sounded out of breath, like he was running. "UNDYNE IS HEADING YOUR WAY!" That was all he had to say for her to start panicking, letting Sans take the phone.

"how close is she?" His voice was dark, and before Papyrus could answer, the bar's door was kicked off its hinges.

"Human!" A deep, female voice called from the broken door. Selenia slowly turned around in her seat, her eye catching that of a blue scaled, red haired fish monster with an eye patch over her left eye.

"oh, hey, undyne." Sans called, trying to distract the guard.

"Don't 'hey undyne' me, nerd!" She stomped up to the duo, her single yellow eye on the human. "You're coming with me!" She grabbed the human's arm with a slightly webbed hand, yanking her from the bar stool.

"Oh, you're Undyne?" Selenia was very nervous. "the brothers didn't tell me how pretty you were! Rude of them!"

"Did… you just… call me… PRETTY?!" The fish woman snarled, but continued to drag the human outside.

"Well, yes." Her arm was starting to hurt. "Your scars are fucking awesome!" She was just rambling now.

"UNDYNE, WAIT!" Papyrus finally made it onto the scene.

"No, Papyrus. You lied to me all this time about not knowing anything about a human! That's not something friends do to one another! Are you even really my friend after all?" Undyne was furious, finally pulling her prey outside of the bar.

"OF COURSE I AM!" Papyrus looked extremely downtrodden.

"Yet you lied to me! I don't like having liars as friends, so I guess that means you're NOT my friend anymore!" Snap! She had broken the poor skeleton's heart. Orange tears were gathering in his eye sockets.

"Sans!" Selenia called to the shorter brother, digging her heels into the ground at the sight of the distraught Papyrus and to make it harder for the fish woman to pull her away. "Take care of Paps!" She was violently shaking as her anger was building.

"what about you?" Sans' eye lights were almost nonexistent at this point.

"Don't you worry about me! _Fishtits_ here and I have to have a quick heart to heart." The woman was absolutely livid.

"Fishtits? Why you little!" A spear appeared in Undyne's hand as she released the woman and dragged out her soul with magic to engage in battle. A vibrant green and purple heart with a long black crack down the middle bounced light off of the snow. Any onlookers in the vicinity stared at it in awe; even Undyne was speechless.

"Oh look, it's my soul. I'm guessing that means I'm in for a battle with you then?" The human's whole demeanor had changed.

"What the fuck is up with your soul?! No soul should be two different colors!" Undyne was both in awe and dumbstruck.

"No idea, fishtits, it was like this when I first saw it." She raised her head to stare her opponent down. "You can hurt me as much as you want, by the way." Her soul floated over to the two skeletons, having what looked like a mind of its own. "But you just broke something a lot more important to me than my own wellbeing. You hurt the most kind and selfless monster I care about!"

The soul's light grew brilliantly, encasing Papyrus and Sans in a green bubble. They felt warmth and comfort from inside of it. "I should show you NO MERCY!" Selenia snarled, her visible eye blazing with anger. Undyne shrunk down slightly under the look, having never seen anyone so angry at her. "But I am no murderer." Her soul sat the skeletons back down, the bubble diminishing as it flew back in front of her. "Let's get down to business then, shall we?" She moved into a defensive stance.

"You know, I have some respect for you now; after seeing how much you care about the boneheads the way you do." A slight smile was twisting on Undyne's lips, showing some of her sharp, pointed teeth. "Still, orders are orders. I'm going to need your soul, since it's the seventh one we need to get out of this hell hole."

"I understand, but I'm not ready to die here. I've got people I care about that I need to live for." Selenia returned the fish woman's smile with her own. A phone ringing broke the two female's concentration, and the soul flew back into the human's body, startling her and returning all of her forgotten self at the same time.

Undyne reached into the pocket of her jeans, pulling out the offending item and answering it. "Hey, nerd, what's up?" As the phone call dragged on, Sans and Papyrus ran to the human's side.

"You were really brave, human." The taller brother was still teary, thus the use of a more indoor voice. Seeing the tears, Selenia didn't hesitate to reach up and hug the taller brother.

"No one hurts people I care about." Papyrus was quick to return her hug with his own crushingly affectionate one.

"you had me worried there, kid." Sans spoke up from beside them. "The way your soul did what it did, and the way your determination was sky rocketing…"

"Told you not to worry about me." A smile graced her lips.

"Your soul is amazing!" the taller skeleton lifted her off of her feet, swinging her in a circle before placing her back down.

"Souls like yours are rare, punk." Undyne was off of her phone and now walking toward the trio. The brothers moved in front of her protectively. "Don't have to be on the defensive, nerds. I'm only here to talk now." The fish woman's single eye surveyed the trio thoroughly. "That was Alphys on the phone, telling me to stop the fighting."

"so what's up? You don't stop a fight for no reason." Sans was curious.

"That punk's soul is what's up. Alphys is looking into it more now, but from what she said, that human has a very rare soul. It's something most monster kind haven't laid eyes on in ages." Undyne smirked.

"Alphys?" Selenia questioned.

"She's the royal scientist, a total nerd." The word 'nerd' was said with tons of affection. "She'll probably want you to drop by her lab to run some tests or something on your soul. I can lead you to it now if you want."

"There's only one way I'll go with you." A stern look was on the human's face. "You have to apologize to Papyrus first." She rested a comforting hand on the back of said skeletons armor.

"For what? Saying he wasn't my friend?" Undyne looked the tall skeleton over, noticing the orange tears still gathering in his eye sockets.

"Yes." The human stared the fish woman down. "On occasion words can hurt a hell of a lot more than a life time of actions. This was one of those times."

"Ah… shit Paps…" Running a hand through her ponytail, she sighed. "I didn't really mean that… I was just so angry…" Papyrus silenced Undyne with a one armed hug.

"DO NOT WORRY, UNDYNE! ALL IS FORGIVEN! NEXT TIME I WILL IMMEDIATELY CONTACT YOU WHEN I SEE A HUMAN!" The tall brother had already forgiven the fish woman, and had resumed his outdoor voice.

"Heh… bonehead." Undyne wrapped an arm around the skeleton's shoulders, before pulling him down into a head lock and a noogie.

"ACK! PLEASE DO NOT NOOGIE THE SKELETON!" He shouted and struggled to get out of her hold. They were both laughing though, which brought a smile to Selenia's lips. She walked up to the two, holding out her hand to the guard, who stopped to look down at her.

"We got off on the wrong foot. I was kind of hoping we could amend that." Undyne slowly took her hand. "My name is Selenia, affectionately known to some as Human."

"Name's Undyne, captain of the royal guard." The fish woman wore a grin, pointed teeth showing in all their glory. An angry crackling sound came from behind them, the flame bartender staring (?) down the guard. "Ah, yeah, Grillbz, sorry about the door." She threw a bag of coins to the elemental. "That should cover it and then some."

The four then walked back toward the brother's house, ultimately passing it. Undyne and Papyrus were talking animatedly, while Selenia hung back, Sans a bit farther behind her in thought. He quickly picked up the pace to reach the human's side, pulling gently at her sleeve to get her attention. She turned and smiled at him, then noticed the thoughtful expression on his face. "What's up?" She questioned.

"can we talk?" His voice was low.

"Of course! What's on your mind?" He gave a subtle glance at the other two. "Oh… hey guys, we'll catch up to you! Go on ahead!" The skeleton and fish woman nodded, heading straight into the waterfall cavern. "So…" The human was caught off guard as the shorter brother pulled her into a hug.

"she could have killed you, you know?" His voice was muffled by her hair. "you shouldn't have done what you did." He pulled back, holding her at arm's length. "why did you do it?"

"I didn't want to see Paps upset like that. I didn't want to see him go through all that pain just because he was trying to keep me safe." Selenia sighed, turning her gaze from his bright stare. "The look… was just devastating… I just felt a burning need to protect him, and even you from her, if that makes sense." She turned back to him with a grin. "And maybe because I'm a bit of an idiot when it comes to protecting people I'm close to."

"yeah, definitely an idiot." He patted her shoulder before removing his hands from her. "thanks though, for sticking up for Paps like that. Takes guts to go up against Undyne."

"Honestly? I was scared out of my mind, but her words to him…" She shook her head. "Something in me just snapped, and then my soul just putting the two of you in that strange bubble… I'm confused about all of this."

"don't sweat it, kid. We're going to see Alphys just for that reason." He was smiling at her, but not his usual grin. It was something softer.

"Guess that's our cue to catch up to them, huh?" She was all smiles. "Come on, lazy bones, let's go!" She took his hand and started leading him into the waterfall cave.

"so… you said that you saw your soul before?" Sans was curious again.

"About that huh?" She chuckled. "When I first fell down here, I ran into a flower with a face who tried to kill me." She rolled her eye at the memory. "It got really mad when I didn't accept its 'LOVE'."

"LOVE? Oh shit… no one's explained any of that technical stuff to you then?" He almost froze if it wasn't for her hand still on his.

"Nope." She slowed her pace and looked back at him. "Why?"

"LOVE, capitalized, is an acronym… it means 'Level of Violence'." Her eyes went wide. "And EXP stands for Execution Points. The more you kill, the more EXP you gain and the higher your LOVE goes."

"What the hell…" She shook her head in disbelief "If I ever see that flower again I'm going to have to trample him."

"you thought the weed meant the lowercased version of love, huh?" Sans stared at her, gauging her reaction.

"Yup… Little asshat hit a sore spot in me with those words as well." She grimaced. "You want some love, don't you?" She spat the words out, shaking her head.

"that's harsh." He shook his own head, bones rattling. "but think about it now, you have your mom's love, as well as me and Paps now." He squeezed her hand reassuringly.

"You're right, and I'm glad to have all of you here, because…" Selenia bit her lip. "back home, I had no one."

"shit, kiddo, I didn't mean to bring up bad memories."

"No worries," A sad smile adorned her lips. "It hurts to talk about, but I'll tell you." She drew in a deep breath, launching into her story. "I lost my birth mother a few years ago when I was still a teenager and still in school. I shut out what friends I did have because I was overcome with grief. She was murdered right in front of me… and I would have been killed too if my neighbor at the time hadn't heard the commotion and called the authorities. That was also the day that I started covering the left side of my face… to hide it away from everyone."

"how bad is it?" He had always wondered why she didn't show that side of her face, and why she was always startled when someone snuck up on her from that side.

"See for yourself." A mirthless laugh shook her. She took her hand from his, using it to draw her dark locks away from her face. Her left eye was completely gone, just pink flesh showing under her barely functioning eye lid. A few jagged scars ran from just under her hair line, cutting away sections of her eye brow before stopping just above her lips. "Surprise! I'm a fucking cyclops!" Her grin was forced as she turned her eye away from him.

"Christ, kid." He slowly reached out, running his boney fingers along her left cheek, making her stiffen. He felt anger surge through his bones; who could hurt such a kind soul?

"My birth mother's ex-husband." He shrank back, realizing he had voiced his thoughts. "He was abusive to both of us not too long after they married. She had divorced him quickly afterwards, but he found us to 'finish the job' as he put it." He pulled his hand away and she let the hair fall back into place. "Anyway, we need to catch up to Paps and Undyne, let's move." She skirted around him and continued walking. He followed at a slower pace.

They soon caught up to the other two, who were still very animatedly in conversation. Papyrus pulled the human into a one armed hug, talking about her tutoring him with cooking, which Undyne had given her props for. The fish woman then asked how many times they burnt down the kitchen and the talks continued, lifting the human's spirits.

Sans hung behind the group, just watching them while once again in deep thought. This human had turned out to be a breath of fresh air in his life of constant resets, and he knew he shouldn't feel anything for her. His damn emotions were drawing him in too deep when it came to her though, and he was cursing himself for even having emotions at this point. Her kindness and determination were drawing him into the deep end. He had to put a stop to these feelings because he knew the time was drawing near to when Frisk would come along and either kill everyone or save them and then ultimately… reset.

A/N! hello all =) Here's the next chapter! Some deep stuff huh? Anyway, don't hesitate to leave a review, criticism or whatever! I love hearing back from you guys! Have a great day! =D


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

The four had finally made it out of Waterfall, which Selenia had questioned the name of. She was told the king wasn't very good at coming up with names, thus the randomly obvious names to the different underground caves. They had also stopped a few times to talk to some of the other monsters and let her examine her surroundings. She was especially interested in the concept of Echo flowers and the wishing room.

Heat started to settle in as they strolled out of the damp cave; making the human and Undyne start to sweat. The human was glad she decided to layer the striped tank top under the long sleeved shirt. She pulled it over her head before tying it around her waist.

"Christ, did someone open the gates to hell in this place or what?" Said human joked.

"Feels like it, huh?" Undyne smirked tiredly, the heat already getting to her.

"let's get to the lab before you two pass out." Sans was being the voice of reason.

"GREAT IDEA, BROTHER!" Papyrus agreed.

"So is this…" Selenia stopped to look at a large sign. "Welcome to… Hotland? Really?" She shook her head before continuing on. "Anyway, is this place like, just a giant lava tube?"

"That's right, at least from what Alphys says." The fish woman answered.

"And people actually live here?" The human received three nods. "Geeze… some must find this place very _lavable_ then." She got the response of groans from the taller ones and a laugh from Sans.

"good one kid." The group continued walking, quickly coming to a large metal building, the words "Lab" written above the door. Undyne pushed right on through, the other three following along behind her. The inside of the lab was significantly cooler than the outside, which brought sweet relief to two of the four.

"Alphys, we're here, nerd!" Undyne shouted out, a door at the far end of the room opening up as a yellow lizard like monster wearing a lab coat and glasses shuffled into view.

"O-oh… H-h-hello everyone." Her voice was soft and kind of nasally, a small nervous twitch in her hands. "Ah… y-you must be the h-human."

"That's me." Selenia slowly took a step forward. "My name is Selenia, and you're Dr. Alphys, right?" She moved very slowly, sticking out her hand for the jittery monster to shake.

"Y-yes." The doctor quickly shook hands with the human, her scaled ones being clammy. "I-it's nice to finally m-meet you face to face."

"Huh?" The young woman questioned.

"Alphys here has cameras set up all over the place, from the door to the ruins to just about everywhere else in the Underground." Undyne explained, slapping a hand on the lizard woman's back.

"Well… sorry I couldn't be more entertaining since I was cooped up with these two boneheads." She smiled, lifting her thumbs to point back at the two skeletons. A groan came from the taller and a laugh from the shorter.

"O-oh n-n-no it's no problem at all! R-really!" Alphys was quick to respond, nervous sweat dappling her brow.

"Anyway, should we get this soul business under way?"

"R-right! This way!" The doctor led the group into a room that looked like a regular doctor's office examination room, lightly padded table and all. "Have a seat at the table, p-please, and we'll g-get started." Selenia did as instructed, watching the lizard woman scurry about before pulling a large musty tome off of a shelf. "Do… do you mind i-if I have a l-look at your soul?"

"By all means, go right ahead." The human felt an electrical pulse flow through her as her soul was pulled from her chest; the green and purple light tinting the room slightly.

"Oh… m-my... I-it's much different up c-close." Alphys was in awe over the soul, but quickly flipped through the book. "We d-don't have much o-on human souls… b-but we do h-have something on o-one like y-yours." She handed the book to the human, who looked the page over. She saw a faded picture of a split heart, just like hers and started to read aloud for the others.

"This is what we call a 'dual soul.' It is normally made up of two colors with a jagged split down the middle. We think that it symbolizes that the soul had gone through some sort of traumatic hardship, which had almost broken the soul's owner completely." Selenia drew in a deep breath and then continued. "The soul then, when healing, becomes two different colors, taking on aspects from before it was shattered and how the owner overcame said difficulty.

"The first we saw one of these souls was from a human monarch, who had to… The words are faded, I can't make them out." She sighed before going on to the next passage. "This human had the ability to tap into their soul's magic when their emotions were strong enough, though it mostly depended on the color of the first half of their soul…"

"Green is a shielding technique." Undyne explained. "So your bubble back there was shielding magic."

"That… actually make sense, since I felt the extreme need to protect you two." Selenia glanced over at the brothers. "Are there any more details on soul colors?" Her gaze turned back to Alphys.

"Oh, o-of course!" The doctor ran over to a nearby table, pulling out a thinner book which was labeled 'Soul Colors' and handed it to the human. The woman quickly flipped through the pages, coming to the green heart.

"Green is associated with shielding, healing, cooking, and kindness…" She flipped a few more to purple. "Purple is note taking, problem solving, intellect and perseverance…" She bit her lip as her mind started to drift off into thought.

"HUMAN, THOSE DESCRITPIONS SOUND JUST LIKE YOU!" Papyrus pulled her out of her thoughts as he spoke up.

"yeah, kid, no reason to get worked up about it." Sans rested a hand on her shoulder, his steadiness making her realize that she was shaking.

"It's... It's just so much to take in…" Her throat felt dry. "Is there any more information on these 'dual souls'?"

"I-I'm afraid those few passages a-are the only ones I've been a-able to find. I'll k-keep looking for y-you though!" Alphys had a small smile on her face.

"Alright, here, let's exchange numbers." Selenia pulled the old flip phone from her pocket, making the doctor gasp.

"Oh m-my, your p-phone is so old! L-let me upgrade it for you!" The human nodded, handing the phone over. The lizard woman quickly rushed out of the room to upgrade said device, to which the bi-colored soul sank back into the woman's chest.

"I don't think I'll ever get used to that." The woman chuckled, rubbing at the spot her soul disappeared into. She stood from the table, stretching and receiving some satisfying pops.

"I'll never get used to you popping like that." Sans muttered.

"Well you'll have to get used to it." She winked at him as best she could, making his cheeks tint blue. "I win."

"A-alright, I have your…" Alphys walked back into the room to see the human winking at the shorter skeleton, who was blue with blush. She froze before mentally shouting, 'I ship it!'

"Oh well, that didn't take long." Selenia greatfully accepted the phone back, looking it over. "Huh, this actually looks like some of the more recent phones on the surface, not bad."

"R-really? Maybe s-some time you can show me what those look like?" The doctor had a nervous blush on her cheeks.

"Sure! Heck maybe we can make it a girl's night in or something!" The human was smiling.

"You better be including me in that as well, punk!" Undyne none too gently wrapped an arm around the shorter female's shoulders. "We can watch some anime and shit as well!"

"THAT SOUNDS LIKE SO MUCH FUN! CAN I COME AS WELL?!" Papyrus was eager.

"Paps, it's called a girl's night for a reason." Selenia sighed, seeing his expression fall. "But, maybe after the girl's night we could all have a sleep over or something." She laughed as the tall skeleton lifted her off her feet into a crushing hug. As he sat her back on her feet she looked to Alphys. "So what all did you upgrade the phone with?"

"Oh!" The doctor looked startled. "There's a keychain, dimensional boxes to put your belongings, texting… oh and I hope you d-don't mind but I-I set you up an a-account on the Underground's number one social network! I also added m-myself as a c-contact on there… as w-well as in put my n-number."

"Oh my god…" The human was gaping between the scientist and the phone. "You are flipping amazing!" She then pulled up the social network on her phone, it being called Undernet, and looked at her user name, it being 'DualHeart21.' "This is just like Facebook all over again!" She grinned.

"Facebook?" Undyne questioned.

"Ah, surface version of Undernet." Selenia supplied while glancing at the time. "Anyway, it's getting pretty late… we should probably get going."

"getting pretty bone tired myself." Sans agreed.

"You nerds can crash at my place." Undyne offered. "Besides, still have to give Papyrus his lesson."

"THAT IS CORRECT!" The tall skeleton hurriedly corralled all but Alphys out of the lab.

"It was nice meeting you!" The human called back to the doctor before the lab vanished from view. The group trekked back through Waterfall until they came to a house shaped like a giant fish. The teeth of the fish parted for them, Undyne leading the way inside.

The group settled in comfortably, Selenia and Sans sat at the table, one watching Undyne and Papyrus' cooking while the other dozed off. It was kind of scary watching how aggressive the fish woman was while teaching, but she was very passionate about it. It was obvious that she liked tutoring others in how to get better at things; the human couldn't help but smile at the scene before her.

"Hey, punk! Get over here!" The guard was staring straight at the woman. "Paps said you can cook, so I want to see it for myself!"

"I know some basic recipes." Selenia stood, walking over to where the two taller group members were. "Anything specific you want me to whip up?"

"CUPCAKES?" Papyrus was the one who answered.

"Alrighty, what flavor?" She smiled

"Chocolate!" Skeleton.

"Vanilla!" Fish.

"I'll do half and half then. Help me get the ingredients?" The three of them quickly had the correct amounts of everything that was needed, to which the human got to work immediately. She set about making the batter, separating it into two smaller bowls before adding cocoa to one and vanilla to the other. Soon enough the cupcakes were in the oven and she started making the icing.

"Any certain color you guys would like the icing?" She looked over at the two, who were hovering over her the whole time.

"OH… UM…" Papyrus rubbed the back of his skull.

"Don't think we'll be able to decide on a color." Undyne supplied.

"how 'bout blue?" Sans was lazily watching them from the table, arms crossed on the surface and skull resting on them.

"Sounds good to me." Selenia added blue food coloring to the mixture. Once she finished, she shooed the taller two away from her and suggested they play a guessing game. This went on for a while until the cupcakes were done and were set out to cool so she could frost them.

"WHERE EVER DID YOU LEARN TO COOK, HUMAN?" The tall skeleton kept his eye sockets on the cooling cupcakes.

"I learned most of it on my own, but before that my mom taught me what she knew." Said human shrugged. "Used to babysit for a few of the neighbors and learned to make some sweets for when the kids came over." A soft smile was on her face as she reminisced.

"What made you stop?" Undyne spoke this time, her voice a tad softer. "Well since you said 'used to'."

"The last kid I was a sitter for was a total sweet heart, and their parents were going out for a late anniversary dinner. I put the kid to sleep and then got a call from the authorities…" Selenia fiddled with one of the cupcakes, testing how hot it was. "They said the kid's parents had been in a terrible car crash and were pronounced dead on the scene. I had to wake the kid up and tell them what happened and that in the morning a social worker was going to come and pick them up." She started frosting the cupcakes having deemed them cool enough.

"so what happened to them?" Sans was alert now.

"Just what you'd expect; the kid bawled their eyes out until exhaustion pulled them back into sleep. Then in the morning the social worker showed up and took them to be set up into an orphanage or foster care. I haven't seen them since." The woman wiped at her eye with the back of her hand, trying to focus on the task at hand instead of the memories.

"Do you ever wonder how they're doing?" Indoor voiced Papyrus asked.

"All the time. I miss the kid something fierce… Guess after a while of sitting them I started considering them like the younger sibling I never had." As she talked, she finished frosting the last cupcake. "There we go, all done. You can dig in now." She forced a smile on.

Papyrus and Undyne each picked up their preferred flavor, taking a large bite. They seemed frozen in place for the longest time, before reacting with screams of how delicious the sweet was. The human chuckled, her cheeks lighting up with embarrassment at their praise. Sans quickly plucked up one of the cupcakes with his magic while everyone was distracted, bringing it to himself with little effort. He took a quick bite of it, agreeing with the taller ones that it was indeed good.

Selenia moved over to the table to sit down once more, a cupcake of her own in hand. She looked to the shorter skeleton, noticing he already had a cupcake in front of him. "You're pretty sneaky." She remarked while smiling at him.

"couldn't resist the temptation of something sweet." Sans had a sleepy grin on.

"I thought you were more of a savory kind of guy." She smirked at him before taking a bite of her treat, licking the frosting from her upper lip.

"that's my norm, yeah, but sometimes I like a hint of sweet." He nudged her foot with his under the table.

"Just kiss already!" Undyne blurted out, making both skeleton and human blush profusely.

"Wha-what?!" Selenia's eye was huge. "Never mind, I-I'm gonna go outside for some air!" She quickly stood up, making her way to the door and out into the cooler atmosphere that was Waterfall. She still felt all of the heat in her face at the fish woman's remark and fanned herself with a hand.

The human slowly sank down to the floor, her back against the house, and drew a knee to her chest. "Maybe I over reacted just a bit…" She mumbled to herself. "But what is there to over react about? Maybe Undyne thought we were flirting? Oh shit…" She brought a hand up to her face. "Maybe talking to mom will calm me down?" Pulling out her phone, she dialed the familiar number of Toriel.

"Hello, this is Toriel." The sleepy voice of the goat woman instantly soothed the human's jitters a bit.

"Hi, mom, it's me."

"Hello, my child. How are you doing?" Toriel's voice perked up slightly. Selenia replied with the usual before telling her mother figure all of the details about her day, not leaving anything out for once. The goat woman was very concerned about knowing about the head of the royal guard and the royal scientist knowing that she was there, since they were both so close to the king, but the human soothed some of her worries.

The human also told Toriel about her soul, at that the goat woman was also somewhat surprised. "I knew about your soul being those two colors, but I never thought… wow…"

"Yeah, it had me surprised as well." Selenia sighed then. "Now the brothers, Undyne and I are all at her house… and I guess she thought Sans and I were flirting with one another because she screamed out for us to just kiss and get it over with."

"Oh… my…" Toriel was trying to hold back chuckles but failing.

"What?" The human was interested.

"The way you talk about him… I thought you knew you had a crush on him already."

"H-huh? What?" She stuttered, making the goat woman giggle outright. "I mean yeah, he's a good friend; funny, knows the right thing to say to pick me up when I'm down… Knows a few secrets that I haven't even told to you yet…" She paused. "That I will eventually tell you."

"Yes, that kind of talk about him is what tells me you have a crush on him, my child." Toriel stifled her giggles long enough to speak. "Do you know how he feels about you?"

"No, not really… Unless I'm completely oblivious and he's meant some of the things in our usual teasing of one another…" She shook her head, moving some stray hairs away from irritating her missing eye.

"You seem moonstruck by him, dear." Toriel resumed her giggling, earning a chuckle from the human at the pun on her name.

"Guess it's official that I may have a smidge of a crush on him then." She took the phone from her ear, to check the time before placing it back. "Alright, mom, it's getting late, I'll talk to you tomorrow."

"I can't wait to hear from you then, and good luck, my child." Before she could respond, Toriel ended the call. Rolling her eye with a small smile on her lips, Selenia stand and makes her way back into the house.

The air feels tense as she walks back inside, making her look at the three occupants. Sans is asleep at the table again and Undyne, with Papyrus' help, are cleaning up dishes. She felt like she had walked in on a bad note, forcing a smile to her lips as she resumed her place at the table, her unfinished cupcake waiting for her.

"Sorry if I walked in at a bad time, I can go back outside if you want some privacy." She muttered.

"DO NOT WORRY ABOUT IT, HUMAN!" Papyrus smiled back at her. "WE WERE ONLY DISCUSSING MY TRAINING!"

"Yeah, it's not like this house has paper thin walls or anything." Undyne shrugged before catching herself. "Fuck."

"Wait… so you heard my entire conversation with… Oh shit." She buried her face in her hands, blush blooming on her cheeks.

"Someone didn't hear though, because they're a lazybones." Undyne was smirking now.

"That's good to know at least… I'm embarrassed enough as it is." The human shivered a chill crawling up her spine.

"WHAT EVER COULD YOU BE EMBARASSED ABOUT?" Papyrus turned to look at her.

"Because… well…" She stood, walking over to the counter to help out. "I have to think about my feelings and it's something I don't like to delve into too often." She shrugged, putting a clean dish away. "I'm not really good at expressing how I feel most of the time… I just need to wrap my head around this."

"Hey Pap, can you go set up some blankets for you three to sleep on?" Undyne finished with another dish, handing it to the human to put away.

"OF COURSE!" The tall skeleton hurried off to his task. Once he was out of ear shot, the fish woman sighed.

"I kind of know how you feel, punk." Undyne glanced over at the shorter woman.

"What? You mean having a crush on someone and not knowing what to do about it?" Selenia looked up to the taller one.

"Yeah… I mean it's hard to tell the person how you feel, especially if you're not that good with words." The guard shrugged.

"Have… you ever tried writing a note to them? Get the feelings down on paper then give it to them?" The human continued putting dishes away.

"Huh… never thought about that. You're okay in my books, punk." Undyne grinned. "But if you hurt those two or Alphys, you're dead, you hear me?"

"Loud and clear, fish tits." Said 'punk' smirked slightly, no malice behind the nick name.

"Really, that's what you're gonna call me?" The fish woman deadpanned.

"Only until I can come up with something better." She winked, putting the last dish away.

"The blanket beds are finished!" Papyrus announced, though a bit softer because he was carrying his brother to one.

"Well, guess that's the cue for bed time. I'll see you nerds in the morning." Undyne waved before stalking off to her room and shutting the door.

Selenia glanced over at the 'blanket beds', seeing there was really only one. The largest blanket was spread over the floor, for extra padding, and three smaller blankets were along it for each of the three guests to sleep under. Papyrus had already placed Sans under one, the taller brother sliding under the far one, leaving the middle one open for her. She shook her head, but that was normally how the three of them would sit on the couch so she didn't mind. She flicked off the lights, quickly finding her way over to the blankets and lying down.

"Human?" Papyrus drew her attention from his voice being so soft.

"What's up, Paps?" She could only see his silhouette in the darkness, and she turned her body so she could be facing him.

"Could… Could you tell me a story?" Her heart melted more for the precious cinnamon roll.

"Of course. What kind of story would you like to hear?"

"Something packed with action and adventure!" He was still excited.

"Hmm… action and adventure…" She thought for a moment, before an idea came to her. "How about a story of a woman warrior who saved her whole people from a terrible group of marauders?" His interest was perked as she launched into Disney's version of Mulan. She got close to the end of the tale before realizing the tall skeleton was sound asleep, cuddling into his blanket. Smiling, she tucked him in as best she could and settled down to get herself comfortable. A tap on her shoulder made her turn her head, her eye coming to rest on white pupils.

"thanks for telling Paps a story." Sans' voice was low, making her shiver.

"It's no problem." Selenia rolled herself to face the other brother. "He would have done the same for me."

"ain't that the truth." He chuckled, his gaze soft on her. "anyway, kid, thanks for being nice to him. g'night." His eyelid bones, which she blamed magic on, slid closed with a soft click as he almost instantly fell back into slumber.

"Good night, Sans." She smiled, tucking him in as well. She then settled herself under her blanket, removing her long sleeved shirt from her waist to use as a makeshift pillow. A contented sigh passed her lips, her mind drifting off over all of the monsters she's met. 'I wouldn't give up any of this for the world,' was her last thought as sleepy darkness claimed her.

A/N~ Hey all, sorry about it taking a while to get this one out. Distractions and all, but it's here =D It also takes me a little while to get them out because I like to write the words out on actual paper first. Anyway! Hope you all enjoyed! Don't forget to tell me what you think and such! I love your feedback!


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter – 6

Selenia had a slow, peaceful waking, her eye fluttering open to get her used to the light. A weight over her waist and legs stopped her from moving to get out of the make-shift bed. Her back was pressed to something solid, warm, and humming, making her tense up. Soft snores echoed into her ear and relaxed her. It was only Sans behind her… "Fuck…" She hissed through her teeth. She felt him move, nuzzling his face into her shoulder and tightening his grip on her waist before relaxing again.

The human shivered before glancing around the room for help. Papyrus was nowhere to be seen, but Undyne was sitting at the table with a mug of something hot sitting before her. A shit eating grin was on the guard's lips as they made eye contact. The woman whined a quiet plea of help, to which she was given a shake of the head. The fish woman was having too much fun with this. Selenia brought a hand up, gently tapping her fingers on the skeleton's skull.

"Sans…" She whined, making him pull her closer to him. "Sans wake up…" Her voice was scratchy with sleep yet. He shifted again, his eye sockets slowly blinking open.

"hmm…." His eye lights landed on the extremely close, blushing human's face.

"Please… release me…" She mumbled. The skeleton's sockets widened before quickly pulling his arm and leg off of her. He moved so fast that she barely had time to blink before he was standing on the opposite side of the room.

"sorry about that, kiddo." His face was blue with blush as well.

"No problem." She sat up and grinned at him. "Guess this round is a tie?"

"heh, sure." He took time to look around. "Where's Pap at?"

"He didn't want to wake you two up, so I sent him out to jog a few laps around the area." Undyne finally spoke up, the grin still plastered to her face. "I didn't expect you to be such a cuddler, Sans."

"nah, that's more pap's forte." The blue was still heavily coating his cheek bones though the fish woman's teasing.

"Doesn't seem like it with how much you were wrapped around her." The guard took a sip of her drink.

"I'm gonna go find pap now." Once again he was gone in the time it took for both females to blink.

"Did you really have to embarrass him that much?" Selenia shook her head as she stood and started to fold up the blankets.

"It was just some harmless teasing, punk." Undyne had mischief dancing around in her uncovered eye. "Though I'm pretty curious about what would have happened between you two if I wasn't here."

"The same thing that just happened, but probably a bit smoother." The human sighed thoughtfully. "If it wasn't for the embarrassment though, I'd say that's one of the more comfortable sleeps I've had since I fell down here."

"Wait, so humans can fall down too?" Undyne had a puzzled look on her features. "But you're alive?"

"Fall down? Well, I did fall down a hole at the beginning of the ruins, so I guess? I'm surprised I lived it to tell the truth." The woman placed the folded blankets on a chair before seating herself at the table.

"Falling down for us isn't what you're thinking of." The fish woman took another sip of her beverage. "When a monster 'falls down' it means they're close to death. They just lie down and fall asleep, and don't wake up. Eventually they just… turn to dust."

"So… turning to dust means they die, and falling down is a coma like state before death?" The human received a nod. "Holy shit… So, what should I do if I ever find someone in that state?"

"Stay with them, give one of the bone heads or me a call, we'll get to you as soon as we can and then try to find their family." Undyne gave her a serious stare. "Let's just hope you never have to see or experience that."

"Anyway… Did you and Paps already have breakfast?" Selenia was trying to shake away the bad subject.

"Nah didn't have anything yet. Why?"

"I was thinking about commandeering your kitchen." The human was smirking.

"Not without my help you're not." The fish woman grinned.

"Pancakes?"

"Pancakes." The two then got to work on preparing the meal.

 _ **~Break brought to you by Temmie Flakes.~**_

Sans appeared in a different area of Waterfall, his vibrant blue magic wisping away from his body. His single cyan orb blinked out of existence as the white eye lights returned. He sighed, smoothing a hand over his skull, still bothered about how he had woken up; wrapped around the human he had to hide his budding feelings for. He couldn't remember the last time that he had done that, maybe when Papyrus was still a baby bones.

The taller skeleton rounded the corner, eye sockets landing on his brother almost instantly. "GOOD MORNING, BROTHER!" Papyrus walked up to him, Sans falling into step. "HOW WAS YOUR SLEEP?"

"same as usual. How 'bout yours?"

"IT WAS FANTASTIC! I WAS DREAMING ABOUT FIGHTING ALONG SIDE THE HUMAN WARRIOR FROM THE STORY THE HUMAN TOLD ME LAST NIGHT!" The taller brother continued ranting enthusiastically about his dream as Sans lost himself to his thoughts. "ANYWAY… brother, that was the first night in a long time I've seen you sleep without nightmares…" Papyrus' voice was quieter.

"yeah?" Sans was half paying attention.

"Maybe you should sleep next to the human more?" The taller one was concerned for his brother's wellbeing, and it shown through in his expression.

"what?" His eye sockets went wide, blue lighting his cheeks. "Pap that's not really… appropriate…"

"I mean it in a completely platonic way." Papyrus was also wide socketed. "But how do you feel about the human?"

"oh… uh.. she's nice I guess…" Sans shrugged.

"Do you… maybe like her in a more than platonic way?" The taller skeleton narrowed his eye sockets, watching his brother trying to sink himself farther into his jacket.

"why would you even think that, bro?" Sans was a smidge nervous; he didn't like lying to Papyrus but he would rather keep his feelings to himself. "did undyne or Alphys put you up to this?"

"N-no, why ever would you think that they put I, The Great Papyrus, up to something like this?" the taller skeleton's demeanor changed, alerting the shorter brother that one of the females had indeed asked him to talk about this subject.

"to answer your question, no. I only feel platonically for the kid." He really hated lying to his brother.

"OH… OK THEN!" Papyrus also wore his heart on his sleeve, so Sans could see the hurt look cross his features.

"if you're done with your rounds we can head back now." The taller brother nodded and they silently made their way back to Undyne's house.

When the brothers reached the fish shaped house, they entered into a delightful smell. They saw the table set with a large stack of pancakes planted in the middle. Different condiments and a few other plated foods were scattered about the tower of fluffy, golden-brown morsels, such as hash browns and eggs.

"There you two bone heads are!" Undyne was the first to notice them.

"Welcome back!" Selenia smiled. "Have a nice walk?"

"INDEED!" Papyrus ran to greet the females.

"eh, could use a nap after that." Sans grinned, receiving groans from the taller two and a giggle from the human.

"Anyway, breakfast is ready, so dig in." Said human waited for the others to be seated before sitting down herself. Breakfast went as smoothly as one could expect; Sans throwing out puns, in which Papyrus would scold him, Undyne almost breaking a few plates by how forcefully she ate, and Selenia just happily watching it all. After they were all done, the fish woman took her pupil out for more training, leaving cleaning up the mess to the two shorter members.

The human hummed as she cleaned, happy to help out, while Sans just lounged lazily at the table. "You know, you could be helping me out with this." Her single eye was turned just so she could barely make him out in her peripherals.

"yeah, but it's too much work." Sans yawned, but kept his eye lights on the human.

"Didn't you tell me you had, what, five jobs or so?" She crossed her arms over her chest as she fully turned to look back at him.

"I'm on vacation." He shrugged. "so that means I don't have to work."

"I know what vacation time is." She rolled her eye, but was in good spirits. "But regular house hold chores don't count for that vacation time."

"huh, never would have guessed that." The skeleton relaxed into the wooden chair, his hands behind his skull as he rocked it onto its hind legs. " 'sides, looks like you're doing fine on your own."

"So you're just too lazy to help out then?" There was a hidden mischief in her words. "Alright, it's either that or you just like staring at my butt." She shrugged, not waiting for a reply as she turned back to cleaning.

"wait, what?" He stood so quickly the chair tipped over, falling to the ground uselessly.

"I saw you staring at me." She shrugged nonchalantly. "I have pretty good peripheral vision."

"at your butt though?" His eye sockets were wide.

"It's what some males, mostly human from what I've seen, tend to look at on a woman." Selenia set a dish aside to dry later.

"why though? It's just a squishy, fleshy lump made of muscle and other things right?" He was curious now.

"I'm not really sure why they do it to be honest. They just find it attractive or something of the sort." He had come up to her on her right side, which she was thankful for. "They also tend to like the 'fleshy lumps' on a woman's chest."

"monster women have those too, well in some cases." Sans' eye lights flickered to her chest for a second before refocusing on her face. "I'm guessing it define themselves as female."

"For humans they're used to feed our young, mostly just newborns." The human continued cleaning. "They're also very sensitive to the touch in case you were wondering." She gave him a sideways glance.

"as in ticklish?" He was smirking at her now; he knew all of this stuff already from the times he did make it to the surface before a reset. He did his research.

"Not quite… do you... um… know what sexual arousal is?" A light pink dust covered her cheeks, and she thought she sounded silly for asking the question.

"hmm... I don't think so." Sans was trying to look as ignorant as possible. She turned to him and he immediately noticed the blush.

"Well… uh… are… are your bones sensitive? Like your neck vertebrae or your clavicles?" She bit her lip.

"uh, I guess?" He was confused now, wondering what she was getting at.

"May I… um… touch them then?" She was very nervous.

"sure, knock yourself out." He slipped his hoodie off, revealing a plain white tee shirt. Light blue covered his cheek bones at the way she looked at him for permission, which he gave. She timidly reached out to him, her fingers ever so gently trailing over his mandible before sleeping to the back of his skull and finding the first few vertebrae.

He shivered as her digits explored his bones; her touch was very sensual and made him feel something he hadn't felt for a long while. Her fingers danced from the back of the vertebrae to the front, to which he had to hold back a gasp of pleasure. She watched him closely, wondering if she should stop her ministrations. She continued, trailing her fingers down over his shirt to caress his clavicles. Was he panting now?

"Do… you understand now?" She drummed her digits on the covered bone, noticing his eye lights could barely be considered pinpricks at this point.

"i... I think s-so." He was breathing heavily, his bones rattling together in a shiver. A worried look came over the human's face.

"I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to…" She quickly pulled her hands back, thinking that she may have unintentionally hurt him.

"no you didn't do anything wrong." He tentatively reached out, his hand very carefully sliding under her hair to cup her left cheek. "the touch was just… really intense…"

"So I didn't hurt you?" The poor human looked like she was close to tears at the thought.

"of course not… it just… really showed me what you meant by arousal." His thumb carefully stroked over her scarred cheek, a deep blue blush coating his. "I didn't mean to scare you."

"I'm just glad you're okay…" A small smile graced her lips. "But yes, that's basically the feeling a human can get from that same kind of touch to her 'fleshy' chest lumps." There was still a bit of blush on her cheeks as well.

"heh… guess we can call this round a tie as well." He slowly took his hand away and put his hoodie back on. "now come on, we've still got some dishes to clean up and food to put away."

"Right." Selenia took to washing the dishes, while Sans started the process of drying and putting them away. Soon the whole kitchen area was clean and the two were calmed down and placing leftover containers in Undyne's heated refrigerator. The two taller members came back not too long after and were amazed.

"Good job on cleaning up, punk." Undyne none too gently slapped her hand on the human's back, earning a small hiss of discomfort.

"I had a good helper." Selenia smiled over to Sans, who grinned back.

"SANS DID HOUSE WORK?!" Papyrus' eye sockets were wide.

"Yeah, got him to help just a bit." She grinned triumphantly.

"…" The taller skeleton marched forward in disbelief, and wrapped his arms around the human in a bone crushing hug. "I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS, AM KEEPING YOU!"

"Paps, I'm not a pet!" Said human giggled. "I also kind of need to breathe." She was quickly released from the hug. Sans was grinning as well.

"How did you get that lazybones to work?" Undyne was skeptical.

"Hmm…" Selenia opened her arms wide above her head, wiggling her fingers for emphasis. "Magic!" She then burst into a fit of giggles.

"WAIT…" Papyrus' sockets were narrowed. "YOU HYPNOTIZED HIM?!"

"Or did you threaten him with doom?" The fish woman's eye was also narrowed.

"No, none of that." The human was still giggling. "I just asked him nicely." There was no way she was telling them about the touching.

"anyway," The shorter brother finally spoke up. "we should be heading home and getting out of your hair."

"DO WE HAVE TO? I LIKE HANGING OUT WITH UNDYNE!" If Papyrus could, he would be giving his brother the puppy dog face.

"Don't you have a forest to patrol for more humans? I bet they'd miss out on all of your great puzzles if you're not there." Selenia smiled at the cinnamon roll.

"YOU ARE RIGHT, HUMAN!" Papyrus gasped, before basically dragging her and Sans out of the house. "WE MUST BE OFF!"

"If any more humans come through, you let me know right away, got it?" Royal guard Undyne was back.

"WE WILL! DO NOT WORRY!" With a hasty good bye from the human, the trio finally started on their way back to Snowdin.

 _ **~This break brought to you by Grillby's.~**_

Another few days had passed, and Selenia couldn't have been happier. The girl's night she had planned with Alphys and Undyne had been a huge success, and she had loved every minute of getting to know both females better. She had also figured out the two had crushes on one another but both were too shy to admit it to one another. The big sleep over had gone the same, everyone had a lot of fun and the fish woman and Papyrus had only broken a few plates and caught the stove on fire once while trying to make dinner.

The human was in absolute bliss in her life in the Underground. Though today she was slightly bored; both of the brothers were out on sentry duty in the forest, and Undyne and Alphys were both busy with their duties. There were only Mettaton reruns on the television and the house was spotless from her cleaning spree. The only room not clean was Sans' room because he never let anyone in there. She thought for a few minutes about what she could do. She hadn't called Toriel in the last few days and cursed herself for wondering if she had worried the goat woman. She quickly pulled out her phone and dialed in the familiar number.

"Hello, this is Toriel."

"Hi, mom." Selenia was grateful to hear the goat woman's voice.

"Oh! Hello, my child!" Toriel also seemed happy. "I was so worried when you didn't call."

"I know, and I'm so sorry, the last few days have just been very hectic for me. So how are you doing?" She stretched her legs out on the couch, getting into a more comfortable position.

"I've been well, and I've got some exciting news to tell you!" Toriel's voice was ecstatic.

"Go for it." The older woman's excitement carried over to the human.

"Another human fell down here about a day ago, a younger one than you." Selenia froze. "I also gave them a phone, and the first thing they did when they called me was to call me mother as well!" The goat woman's voice grew soft. "But… they've shown an interest in leaving the ruins… I don't know if I can let them leave because they are so young…"

"Mom… if they want to leave you can't hold them back. If they do… well I'll send Sans over to stick close to the door, and I'll take to watching after them to make sure they're safe." The human was shaking with nerves at the situation.

"You would really do all of that?" Toriel was concerned.

"Of course! I'm a big sister now aren't I? I've got to watch out for my little sibling!" Her voice came out stronger than she felt at that moment.

"Yes, I suppose you are now." A bit of happiness was back in Toriel's voice.

"Then don't you worry about a thing, mom. Big sis Lenna is on duty!"

"Thank you so much, my child. Words cannot express how happy I am to hear that."

"It's no problem at all! Anyway, I should give Sans a call and let him know what's going on." Selenia was smiling now, though still anxious.

"Alright, I will talk to you soon."

"Love you, mom." The human almost bit her tongue off in surprise at her words. There was a pause on the other end of the line.

"I… I love you too, my child." Toriel sounded like she was going to cry from sheer joy." Goodbye."

"Bye." The call ended, both parties feeling happier than ever. Shaking her head, the human quickly dialed the number Sans had given her. She waited anxiously for him to answer.

"yo." His voice was comforting to her ears.

"Hey."

"oh… um what's up? Something wrong?" She could hear him shuffling around in his station, knocking over condiment bottles.

"I need to ask you a favor." Her voice was serious.

"okay?"

"Another human fell down; mom told me when I called her a few minutes ago. Anyway, I need you to keep a close look out for them. They're only a kid from what mom said, and I told her I'd keep watch over them and send you down to the door to make sure they don't get hurt. So please do that, for me?" Her voice was quieter at the end.

"hmm… I donno… what's in it for me?" She could hear the smirk in his words.

"Anything specific you want? Any kind of sweet treat or savory flavor that I could make for you?" Her brows furrowed in thought.

"I'll get back to you on that. And don't worry; I'll keep an eye socket out for the kid." He resigned.

"You better, or else you face the wrath of the big sister!"

"wait, what?" She ended the call, leaving him hanging. She was quickly becoming very excited to meet the kid and wondered what they were like. Maybe she should make a batch of cookies for them? The human didn't know what to do with herself and the sudden burst of energy she got. She wondered if this is what Papyrus always felt. She finally decided that she would make a batch of chocolate chip cookies.

As she worked on the cookies, Selenia checked her phone often, receiving text updates from Sans. The first one had been a sad face because she hadn't answered his question. About fifteen minutes after that message, she got one that the kid had come out of the ruins and was going to get the same whoopee cushion greeting she had received, which made her laugh. The next one she got told her that the kid was happily doing Papyrus' puzzles and it was making the tall skeleton absolutely giddy. It made her happy to know.

The cookies were sitting on a cooling rack, the delicious smell of warm chocolate filling the cool air in the house. Selenia was anxiously sitting on the couch waiting for the next update. Her leg was jumping nervously as she stared down at the silent phone in her palm. She blinked slowly, and suddenly there was a weight beside her on the couch. Her head turned quickly to the left, seeing the shorter brother sitting there, his usual grin on his skull.

"Sans, what are you doing here?" The human glared over at him.

"taking a break. The kid's with pap don't worry. He wouldn't harm them." He still saw the worry in her eye and lazily flung an arm around her shoulders, pulling her closer to him. "calm down, you're getting yourself all worked up for nothing."

"I know…" She sighed, resting her head on his boney shoulder so she could see him better. "It's just… this is the first human I'm going to see since I fell down here and I'm nervous… What if they don't like me?"

"what's not to like about you?" He stared down at her incredulously. "I mean you became friends with Undyne, who swears up and down she wants to destroy all humans for trapping us down here. Hell, even a shut in like Alphys considers you to be a good friend. Not to mention me and pap as well. If the kid doesn't like you then fuck 'em; you have the rest of us here that do like you." His grip on her had tightened.

"Sans…" Her voice was soft and wavering, making him look over at her in worry. Tears were welling in her sea blue eye. She threw herself up so she was straddling his lap and locked her arms around him. Her face was buried deep into the fur on his hood as light sobs of 'thank you' were cried out of her. He was frozen for a moment before his arms locked themselves around her and held her tightly to him.

"hey, come on, kid, there's no need for tears." His voice was gentle, his hand working in small comforting circles on her back. "calm down, you're alright."

"I know I'm alright…" Was the muffled reply. "I'm just… so happy… I have everything down here that I could have ever wanted… friends, family, people that actually care about me… All things that I didn't have on the surface…" Her sobs intensified for a few brief moments. "I'm sorry; I didn't mean to break down on you like this." She squeezed him before slowly pulling away, wiping at both of her eyes out of habit.

"its okay kid, don't sweat it. Now get yourself cleaned up, I have a feeling pap is gonna bring the kid in soon." His smile for her was genuine and full of affection. She nodded and stood, heading to the bathroom to wash her face. Sans shook his head, knowing the woman was worried for no reason; the kid was going to love her unconditionally.

A few minutes later, Selenia was back down in the kitchen, humming to herself as she set up a small plate of cookies while fending off a sweet craving skeleton. The two were ranting back and forth of why he should and shouldn't have one of the delightful treats.

"Sans I swear to god." She glared over at a blue, floating cookie before snatching it out of the air.

"aw, come on just one?" He was only teasing her, but if he could pout he would be.

"I want the first cookie to go to the kid." Skeletal fingers were zoning in on another morsel before she batted them away.

"SANS! HUMAN! WE'RE HOME!" Papyrus' booming voice greeted them.

"We'll be right there!" She replied, picking up the small plate and sending the shorter brother a warning glare. She quickly carried it out into the living room, a smile on her lips. "Welcome home, Paps, and who is…" Her visible eye widened as she took in the child before her. The plate slowly slipped from her grasp and crashed to the floor, shattering it and a few of the cookies.

Selenia's knees buckled and she held a hand to her mouth in shock as she sank to the floor, cutting her legs on the broken glass. Before her stood a child of about seven or eight, wearing a blue, purple striped sweater, a pair of ragged jeans and black boots. Dark brown hair bowled out and fell into the child's face, stopping just above their shoulders. A ragged breath escaped her, her other hand reaching out toward the child in front of her. Both brothers were calling to her, but she only heard distant echoes of their voices. The child was staring straight back at her, their own eyes wide.

"F—Frisk?" With that single word, the young woman fell to her side in a faint, darkness taking over her vision.

A/N~ hello lovelies! Here it is chapter 6! Pretty fluffy and tear jerky, at least in my opinion… I did not cry while writing this at all . (lies!) Anyway! I can't wait to read your feedback for this one! Have a nice day =D


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

As she came to, the first thing Selenia noticed was a cool dampness on her forehead. The next was a cool air on the left side of her face that was normally covered by her hair. Lastly she felt that her legs were elevated and that a boney hand was clasping onto her own. She slowly let her eye open, her vision slightly blurred, before blinking the blurriness away.

"oh, hey, you're awake." Sans' relieved voice drifted to her, her gaze turning to stare at him. "how many fingers am I holding up?" He released her hand long enough to hold up the digits.

"Mmmm… three, two on this hand and one on the hand behind your back."

"you know me too well already." He laughed.

"So what happened?" She brought a hand to her face, finding the dampness to be a cool wash cloth on her brow.

"you saw the kid and fainted." He stared at her in question.

"Frisk!" She gasped, sitting up and then regretting it as her head pounded. "Oh, bad idea." The wash cloth fell into her lap.

"take it easy, the kid's fine. They're just in as much shock as you are." He took the wash cloth away and watched her eye roam over the area. "hey pap, you can bring the kid down now!" The door to the taller brother's room instantly burst open and a streak of blue and brown rushed down, flinging itself into the older human's arms.

"Lenna it's really you!" The child sobbed into her abdomen, to which she held them close, brushing her fingers through their hair.

"It's really me, buddy." She held the kid tighter as if to solidify the fact that she was indeed there. "I missed you, squirt."

"I missed you too." They pulled back their hands, reaching up to hold her face. "I still can't believe it's you." Big tears were staining their cheeks as their small fingers rubbed over her scar.

"Human?" Indoor voiced Papyrus had come down as well during the little reunion. "Are you alright?" He had been worried the whole time the older human had been passed out.

"I'm fine, Paps." Selenia replied, smiling up at the tall skeleton. "Come here." She opened her arms to him, to which Frisk moved so he could gratefully hug her. "Sorry for worrying all of you."

"you couldn't help it, you were in shock." Sans was smiling now as well. "now, want to tell us how you two know each other?"

"Oh right," Papyrus had released her from the hug, so she scooted over on the couch to give him room to sit. Frisk was already back on her, clinging like their life depended on it. "I used to… well you remember the story I told you guys when we spent the night over at Undyne's?" She got nods from both brothers. "Well, ta-da! Frisk is that kid."

"WOWIE! THEN IT IS GREAT THAT YOU TWO ARE BACK TOGETHER!" The taller skeleton was overjoyed. "I WILL MAKE REUNION SPAGHETTI!" He was off into the kitchen before anyone could say anything.

"Anyway kiddo, how have you been?" Selenia pulled Frisk back to look them over, noticing a band aid on their cheek and dirt covering almost everywhere.

"Not okay." They were still very close to tears. "The matron at the orphanage always took up for the other kids when they were being mean to me… She wouldn't let any parents interact with me to adopt me and the other kids made fun of me because I didn't like talking." They were curling up tightly to her again. "Why couldn't I have stayed with you?"

"Oh sweetie… I'm so sorry." She hugged the child tighter to her, stroking their hair comfortingly. "They wouldn't have let me keep you though, you know this." Sans was watching them both closely. "I would have kept you with me in a heartbeat, but being barely able to keep the house in working order and take care of myself as well as you they would have taken you anyway." The child was sobbing hard. "Look at me, hon." They did as they were told.

"Toriel is mom to you now right?" She smiled as they nodded. "I called her mom as well, so that kind of makes me your big sister, right?" Frisk's eyes widened at her. "So we are technically family now."

"Yes!" The child launched the short distance to circle their arms tightly around her neck, laughing and crying at the same time. "I have a family!"

"See, there's no reason to be sad, squirt. We're here together now, and I'm keeping you this time whether you like it or not!" Selenia locked them into a noogie, both of them laughing as the smaller human struggled to get away. "I also made cookies." She sing songed.

"I know… I kind of saw you drop some on the floor, remember?" The kid broke out of her hold. "I'm going to go help Papyrus!" Frisk took off into the kitchen, leaving Selenia and sans alone in the living room, the former shaking her head with a smile.

"see you had nothing to worry about the kid not liking you." Sans nudged her with his elbow.

"Oh hush you. I mean it's not like anyone gave me the kids name or anything." She frowned slightly. "You monsters do have a tendency to not let someone tell you their name before you continue to talk."

"is that why you rushed your name to me when we met?" He looked over at her, puzzled.

"Yeah, poor mom didn't know my name until about the time I left." She leaned back, snuggling into the couch.

"sorry about that. You and the kid seem like you were really close." He wanted to ask more about it, just to see if he could satisfy his own curiosity about how this timeline would go.

"As I said, I always thought of them as a younger sibling while I was sitting them." Selenia shrugged. "They always came to me when they had a problem and only really ever opened up to me. As they said, they don't like talking much, but they would go on and on to me. We even came up with little code words for some things." She smiled fondly at the memories.

"sounds like you were one of the best things that ever happened to the kid." Sans was also smiling.

"Not the best, because there is definitely better out there than me." She finally decided to comb her hair back over the left side of her face, hiding the missing eye and scarred flesh. "I'm gonna make sure Paps doesn't burn down the kitchen."

"alright… just don't put yourself down so much." She nodded to him before wandering out into the kitchen. He sighed but continued to think about this timeline. This Frisk was definitely the good one from what he's seen of the kid so far. For the first time in a long time he had begun to hope, that with the older human being here that it would be the end of the resets once and for all. Though it still begged the question as to why she fell down here in the first place, but he would get to the bottom of it. For now though, he would just live in the moment.

Selenia slipped into the kitchen, shaking her head with a smile as she watched Papyrus, with Frisk on his shoulders, make his 'reunion' spaghetti. The stove was on a decent temperature for the noodles and she saw the sauce didn't have any random specks of glitter in it, meaning her small tips were actually sticking in his skull. Though he didn't seem to want to give up his squishing the tomatoes into oblivion with his fist, the taller skeleton's cooking was improving.

"You two having fun?" She caught their attention, earning smiles from both of them.

"BUT OF COURSE!" Papyrus had a look of pure joy on his features. "THE TINY HUMAN IS A MASTER AT PREPARING TOMATOES!" The older human took note that the two were both splattered with said object.

"I had a great teacher!" The soft spoken child grinned at the skeleton, who blushed orange at the praise.

"WOWIE, AM I REALLY THAT GOOD?"

"You are the greatest!" There was hero worship in the child's voice.

"You are the Great Papyrus after all." The older human smiled at the two. "But, both of you need to clean up a bit, unless you want tomato stains on your clothes." Papyrus gasped, not wanting his 'battle body' to stain.

"OH YOU ARE RIGHT! COME TINY HUMAN, LET US GO GET CLEAN!" The tall skeleton held onto Frisk's legs as he made a mad dash out of the kitchen and up the stairs to the bathroom. She laughed softly, taking over watching the spaghetti and somewhat happy to have a moment to think to herself.

Idly stirring the noodles, Selenia had a distant look in her eye. She was, regretfully, starting to feel just a bit home sick. Thoughts of the sky, sun and moon passed through her mind, in which she became lax on her stirring judgement; the side of her hand collided with the pot, making her hiss and barely hold back a curse. She pulled back, having enough control to set the spoon on the counter, and rushed over to the recently lowered sink to run her hand under the cold water.

She let a mirthless laugh pass her lips. "You're an idiot, Selenia." She muttered, looking over the quickly reddening mark on her hand. "You should know better than to get distracted by silly little things." Turning off the tap, she turned to lean back against the sink, her eye closed. "I mean, you're useless as it is; couldn't even keep Frisk safe when they lost everything and only know how to cook and clean to get by."

The older human kept berating herself, not noticing that the shorter brother had been watching her the entire time since she had burnt her hand. He was shaking his skull at her sudden attitude, knowing he did the same thing to himself often enough. "what did I say about putting yourself down, kiddo?" She jumped, startled at his voice. He shuffled closer to her, watching her pupil dilate at being caught.

"Everyone has bad days." She sighed, turning her head so she didn't have to look him in the eye. "Today just happened to be mine."

"so what's eatin' you?" He received a small smile from her at the pun.

"Just the usual depressing thoughts. 'Oh you're useless,' 'you can't do anything right,' blah blah blah." Her gaze finally met his again. "Also feeling a bit home sick… miss seeing the sky and feeling the grass between my toes." Another mirthless laugh escaped her.

"ah…" It was his turn to glance away. "that really sucks, kid." He really didn't want the conversation to go in the direction he thought it was headed.

"There's no way to get out of the Underground is there?" Her voice was steady as she studied the skeleton before her. "I remember what Undyne said, 'your soul is the seventh we need.' I think. What exactly did she mean by that?" The sounds of feet descending the stairs made them both freeze.

"later, when the kids are asleep. I'll tell you what you want to know." In the blink of an eye Sans was gone and Papyrus and Frisk galloped back into the kitchen.

The rest of the evening went by well; Papyrus' spaghetti was very much edible, earning him praise. The four of them sat watching one of Mettaton's many shows, in which the older human had found out that Alphys had created the robot. Said mechanical being was dancing back and forth as his singular wheel would allow, as if he was instructing an aerobics course. The younger two were each following along to the robot while the older ones were just watching them. After a few more routines, Papyrus and Frisk both started to get sluggish.

"Okay you two, bed time." Selenia stood, joints popping with the effort.

"Aww, do we have to, Lenna?" Frisk was pouting, their eyes heavy with sleep.

"Yes you do, you have to sleep to recharge and to grow up big and strong." She smiled as the three of them started to head up the stairs to Papyrus' room, which he had suggested they could share his race car bed.

"Sans, can you read us Peek-a-boo with Fluffy Bunny?" The tall skeleton's eye sockets were drooping.

"sure pap." The shorter brother heaved himself off of the couch and meandered himself up the stairs as well. The older human was tucking the younger two in when he got into the room. Papyrus already had the book out and waiting so he dove right in to reading it. When he finished, both his brother and the small human were asleep.

Shutting off the lights, the older two went back to sitting on the couch in comfortable silence. The human broke it by clearing her throat. "So more about this soul business…"

"yeah…" Sans drew in a deep breath he didn't technically need. "so there's this thing called the barrier that's trapping us all down here. It was put into place by seven human sorcerers a really long time ago to keep us down here. That's why seven human souls are needed to break it."

"Undyne said that I was the seventh needed… so that means…" Selenia bit her lip, looking to the skeleton.

"the king already has six in his castle." He sighed.

"So he's killed six people for their souls? How could someone do that?" She stood up, starting to angrily pace.

"he's been trying to free us for a long time." Sans watched her closely, noting her reaction. "would you have done something differently?"

"Can a monster just take a human soul and pass through the barrier that way?" She looked to him, and he nodded in response. "Then maybe he should have asked the first one that fell down if they were okay with him taking their soul to cross over, ask for peace and find others willing to help the cause to free the rest of you." She sighed before slumping down beside his legs, her back pressed to the couch. "That would have worked right?"

"from what I've read, yeah. One monster soul and one human soul together can cross the barrier." He watched as she dug her fingers into her hair, frustrated.

"That's fucking…" She had many words she could have used, but instead a deep snarl erupted from her. "I don't know what I'm more angry about right now!"

"calm down, kiddo, there's nothing you can do about it now." He soothed, reaching out to her. His phalanges barely touched her shoulder before she jerked away.

"Like hell there isn't! I'll schedule an audience with him and chew him out! There's got to be some other fucking way that he hasn't figured out! No one else has to die!" Her anger and determination were boiling, making the skeleton nervous.

"calm down." He was standing now, ready to take action just in case.

"How the fuck can I calm down? Your king is a murderer and none of you bat a fucking eye about it!" She growled, standing as well.

"some of us disapprove of his ways as well." It was his turn to growl.

"Then why have none of you stepped up to stop him?" Her voice was low and sharp. "If one of our leaders does something like this they are thrown out of power!"

"what other fucking choice do we have?" His eye lights were barely visible.

"I don't know! Maybe talk some sense into your king and stop taking the coward's way out?" She was shaking from her rage. "Just do something to stop the senseless killing!"

"don't you think some have tried doing that? The queen left because of his decision to do it in the first place. He did what he had to do to bring hope to a hopeless people. We were all lost after we were sealed down here!" He advanced on her, making her take steps back in retaliation. "Why are you so upset about it?!" She had backed into the wall at this point.

"Because people _died_ , Sans! People that had families waiting for them to come home!" Angry tears were gathering at her eye. "How would you feel if Papyrus went missing and you never knew what happened to him?" A boney fist collided with the wall beside her head, and he seemed to loom over her, though they were about the same height. His eye lights were extinguished, though she felt his stare on her.

"don't ask me that." His voice was a deep growl that actually struck some fear into her.

"How. Would. You. **Feel**." Her voice was a lot steadier than she felt.

" ** _D O N 'T_** " His other fist was against the wall on the opposite side of her head now. Blue was flickering in his left eye socket, which instantly drew her attention. She had never seen the lazy skeleton show this much emotion.

"Let me know how you would feel." Her voice was meek, a fist pressed to her chest as if to protect her soul.

"…" His skull fell to her shoulder, unable to look into her determined eye any longer. "devastated." His single word was muffled and quiet. She reached out, wrapping her arms around him and resting her head against his.

"Their families would have felt the same way." Selenia rubbed soothing circles on his spine. His arms came to wrap around her as well, phalanges brushing through her dark locks.

"that's what you're most upset about? Not the fact that he would take your soul without hesitating?" Sans' voice was calmer now, fiddling with her hair was relaxing him.

"Well, yeah… and you know… if I didn't have all of you guys right now…" She drew in a deep breath, inhaling with it his scent of winter, pine and tomatoes. "I'd have given up my soul to free all of you in a heartbeat. No questions asked." He tensed up, his grip on her tightening for a fraction before pulling back and staring her down, with what emotions she couldn't tell.

"don't even think about doing that now." His voice was a low, warning growl.

"Wouldn't dream of it." She smiled up at him, then proceeded to blush due to how close they were and the position they were in. His eye sockets became half lidded, a rumbling chuckle shaking through him.

"what? Gonna blush at this position but not the one where you were straddling me earlier looking ready to jump my bones?" His voice sent a shiver down her spine.

"T-that was different!" Her fingers found themselves nervously plucking at the fur on his hood. "But now that you've got me thinking about it…" The redness in her cheeks intensified. "Sorry I did that."

"no need to be sorry… I kinda liked it." His cheek bones were tinted as well at the confession. One arm released her, his skeletal hand lightly brushing her hair away from her face. "that's better." Her blush was covering most of her visible face now, since he could see all of it.

"It can't be nice to look at." Her eye darted away from his, unable to take his intense stare.

"but it's you, may not have always been like this, but it's still you." He tilted her head so she was looking at him again. "it's still Selenia." Her eye, and the barely functioning left eyelid, widened at him. It was the first time he had called her by her name, and the way he spoke it made her melt.

"Oh… um…" Her eye started to dart all over the place, her breathing and heart beat increasing rapidly. She felt extremely warm. How many layers of clothes did she have on?

"what? Too flustered to respond?" He was smirking at her, eye lights roaming over her features.

"Stop teasing me." She muttered and buried her face into his shoulder, her skin being tickled by the fur. His arms were back around her as he laughed quietly.

"finally calling off our battle?" He received a light tap to his sternum in response, since she had drawn her arms back to squish between them. "heh, not that kind of teasing then?"

"You're terrible." A yawn passed her lips.

"guess that's the cue to get you to bed." Another hit to his chest made him rumble with laughter. "alright, enough teasing for one night." He somewhat reluctantly pulled back away from her. Blush was still heavily coating her cheeks and she wouldn't meet his gaze as she skirted around him toward the couch.

"I'll see you in… well whenever your lazy ass decides to get up. Good night." He only waved back at her as he meandered off to his room. She sighed as she laid down, her mind buzzing a million miles a minute. It was becoming slightly obvious to her that he may have some sort of feelings for her, but she didn't get her hopes up too much. She had finally come to terms that she did have a sizeable crush on the eldest of the skeleton brothers, but it worried her. Doubts kept rearing their ugly heads at her, like how he could find someone so much better, and even what her deceased mother would think about her sudden interest in possibly getting together with a monster. She shook them off.

The older human woke groggily to the sound of pots and pans crashing together. She couldn't remember falling asleep, which bothered her. Rolling to her side, she pulled the blanket over her head and snuggled into the back of the couch. She didn't feel the greatest and groaned as she hears Papyrus' loud voice shouting about whatever concoction he was cooking being black and not supposed to be that color.

"Lenna…" The soft voice of Frisk made her mutter tiredly. "I think Paps needs help… he's burning every single pancake." She could hear the pout in their voice and groaned again. "Lenna… please… help." They climbed onto the couch and sat on her hip, making her sag uncomfortably into the couch. "Lenna!"

"let her sleep for a bit longer, bud." Sans' voice was music to the tired woman's ears. "if anything there's left over cookies we can chow down on."

"Cookies aren't a breakfast food." The older human mumbled, feeling the weight leave her hip as Frisk took off toward the kitchen. The shorter brother just laughed at her feeble protest.

"I'll make sure pap doesn't kill the kitchen and help keep the kid entertained until you're feeling up to the challenge of getting up." She felt his hand pat her shoulder.

"Thank you…" Her voice was scratchy and her nose was stuffy, making her wonder if she wasn't coming down with a cold. She shrugged it off and decided to try and get some more sleep.

Selenia woke up later, still feeling heavily groggy and disoriented. She muttered out her discomfort and flopped onto her back breathing through her mouth. Her whole body seemed to ache, her head feeling like a waterlogged balloon.

"Human?" The soft voiced Papyrus was looking over her. "Are you alright?" His gloved hands were wringing themselves hurriedly in his worry.

"Paps?" Her eye didn't seem to want to focus. "I'll be fine, just a little under the weather." She covered her mouth as she coughed. "Where are Sans and Frisk?" She was still thinking of the others over her own wellbeing.

"They went to Grillby's." If the skeleton had eyes they would have rolled in distaste. "Is there anything I can do for you?"

"Water, and keep me company for a bit?" The tall skeleton took off to the kitchen to fetch her drink. She pushed the heels of her hands to her eyelids, pressing lightly to see if it would relieve some of the pressure.

"HERE IS YOUR WATER!" His loud voice made her wince, which he noticed. "Sorry." He carefully handed her the glass, which she slowly sipped the cool liquid. He then slowly lifted her upper back and head, grabbing her pillow and sitting where it was. He placed the pillow on his lap and cautiously leaned her back down onto it. Very gently he started massaging her scalp. "Is this okay?"

"That feels amazing, Paps." Selenia purred as the pressure was being relieved. "Where did you learn to do this?"

"Sans used to do this for me when I was a baby bones and not feeling well." His phalanges attentively pushed her locks back, hitting every part of her scalp as they moved front to back. "I don't remember much from when I was younger…" He confessed, "but I remember Sans always being there to look out for me."

"It's because he loves you." She gazed up at him, seeing the uncertainty written in his expression. "He may not say it often, but he does."

"How do you know?" He was watching her as well, but mostly focusing on his ministrations.

"The way he looks when he talks about you, silly." She smiled at him. "You're the light of his life, Paps; the brightest star in his darkest night." He paused, looking close to tears. "Oh, Paps…" She reached up to hug him and he returned it gently. "He's so proud of you just being you. You have no reason at all to doubt how much he loves you. I'd love to have a sibling like you and I'd shout it to the world!" She pulled at her sleeve and brought it up to wipe away his marmalade colored tears.

"Now, give me a smile that only the Great Papyrus can give me." He did so, a few 'Nyeh-hehs' escaping him. "Now there's the Papyrus we all know and love. No more of these silly billy doubts in that amazing skull of yours, okay?"

"Okay." He laughed in his usual way. "I was supposed to be taking care of you… not the other way around…"

"Don't worry about it. I'm happy to help." She playfully tapped his forehead. "Now, want to see if Mettaton has anything new playing?"

"Wowie, can we?" His gleeful self was back as she nodded, to which he quickly flipped on the TV. She relaxed back into the position where her head was in his lap. A marathon of the robot's movies were playing and he was joyfully still massaging her scalp. A few hours passed this way, with some talk about food and other random subjects in between movies. Soon Frisk and Sans were back.

"you two have a nice day in?" The shorter skeleton was all smiles as he saw what his brother was doing to help soothe the older human.

"Yeah the greatest." Selenia grinned up at her care giver.

"heh, yeah, pap is the greatest." Sans saw a look pass between the two at his words, both of them smiling happily. "anyway, Frisk here thought it was a good idea to get some ingredients to make you soup since you weren't feeling well."

"That sounds so good right about now." The rest of the day went by blissfully, everyone enjoying each other's company and Mettaton's bad movies. It couldn't have gone any better in Selenia's eye.

A/N~ Hello my lovelies, here it is chapter 7 =D I had a bit of a sleepless night trying to write this chapter, so if anything confuses you, let me know okay? I also found a recipe for a Butterscotch-cinnamon pie and made it, making some of my house hold question what kind of pie they liked the best XD Anyway, I hope you enjoyed and feel free to leave me some feedback, I love hearing from all of you =D Have a great day!


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

Two days had passed and the older human finally had some strength back in her. She had at least enough to get herself to the bathroom, which she was very happy about. At her weakest points she had to have one of the brothers help her up to it, embarrassing her whenever she had the need to relieve her bladder. Right now though, she was happily soaking in a steaming hot bath.

Selenia felt her sore muscles relaxing with the heat of the water and sighed in bliss. She lazily scrolled through Undernet on her phone as she let the warm water work its magic. She saw Alphys was going on about her favorite anime's sequel not being as great as the first and commented that it was true that sequels normally weren't as great as the originals. She then continued to scroll, finding a picture of Undyne showing off her strength by suplexing a boulder. A knock at the door interrupted her thoughts.

"Lenna? Can I come in?" Frisk. The older human quickly pulled the shower curtain closed to preserve some of her modesty.

"Yeah, no problem, squirt." She heard the door open and close, then the telltale sign of the kid climbing onto the sink's counter. "What's on your mind?"

"I miss the sun…" Their voice was soft and longing.

"I do too, kiddo." She could sympathize with them.

"When can we leave?" The dreaded question finally reared its ugly head. The older human sighed and sat up straighter in the water, thinking about how to tell the kid the nicer version about the barrier that was in their path. "Lenna?"

"Do you know why we don't see monsters walking around amongst us at home, Frisk?" She received a quiet 'no' in response. "A long time ago there was a war between humans and monsters. The humans won the battle and forced the monsters to the underground. At the time humans were able to use magic, so they gathered seven human mages to form a wall to trap all of the monsters down here." She closed her eye as the words tumbled out. "The monsters have been stuck down here since that time, with no way to break the wall that sealed them away from the world. They would need seven human souls to break the wall down and reach the surface again."

"How many souls do they have?" She had forgotten how sharp the kid was when it came to sensing things.

"Six."

"So… one of us would have to give up our souls just so monsters can live up above again?" They shook their head. "One of us would have to die?" The words were so quiet that the older human barely heard them.

"Neither of us are going to die, kiddo." Selenia's voice was steady, trying to ease the worry out of the child.

"Then how are we going to free them?" The question startled her, making her peek out from behind the shower curtain to stare at them. Frisk's face showed pure, unadulterated determination. "It's not right that we can enjoy the sun and they can't…"

"I know, but there's really nothing we can do." Selenia sighed in defeat. She heard them get off of the counter and exit the room, the door softly clicking closed. She pulled the stopper out of the drain with her toes, slowly standing out of the water. She pulled the towel she was given off of the curtain rod, wrapping it around herself to keep her body warm.

Opening the shower curtain, the older human found her clothes, which Frisk must have brought fresh from the dryer, waiting for her. She threw them on quickly, inhaling the piney smell of the brother's detergent and headed out to go fix a quick lunch. The brothers were both out, Papyrus doing his usual patrol and Sans at one of his many jobs so the house was pretty quiet.

"Frisk, you want some lunch?" She called out, wondering where the kid had scampered off to. No sound came to her so she went to check and see if they decided to take a nap in Papyrus' room. She opened the door and poked her head in, not seeing the child made her shrug. They had made fast friends with a few of the monster children in town, so maybe they had decided to head out and play with them.

A bad feeling was swimming around in her stomach by the time the brothers returned home. Frisk was still nowhere to be found and wouldn't answer any of her calls. In her distressed state, both skeletons were by her side almost immediately after they walked in the door. They were trying their hardest to soothe her and find out what was wrong but she hardly heard their voices.

"WHERE IS THE TINY HUMAN?" Papyrus' words shattered her wall.

"I don't know… They won't answer when I try to call them…" Selenia's voice was a low, anxious whine. "Did either of you happen to see them playing with the other kids when you got back to down?"

"we haven't seen the kid since before we left." Sans placed a hand on her back. "we'll find them, don't worry."

"How can I not worry? I lost my younger sibling!" She coughed into her hand, still not fully recovered from her cold.

"what did you two talk about before they went missing?" The brothers both sensed how restless the woman was.

"I told them a condensed version of the barrier story because they missed seeing the sun. They really wanted to do something… about it…" Her words trailed off as she gasped, looking frantic.

"shit." Sans knew what was going on already. "pap head for Undyne's, I'll go to the lab and see if Alphys has a beat on the kid with her cameras." He then turned his eye lights on the human. "you stay here, we'll find them." The shorter brother was gone in the blink of an eye then, not giving the woman room to argue.

"I'm coming with you, Paps." Selenia quickly pulled on her shoes, glaring at the spot the shorter brother was just standing.

"Are you sure? Sans did ask for you to stay here…" The taller skeleton was still worried about her health and his brother's words.

"If Undyne finds out about Frisk like this she's going to blow a fuse. I don't want you to go through that alone. Besides, Frisk is family; I need to keep them safe." Her own determination was strong.

"Okay… but if you get tired let me know and I'll carry you." He smiled at her.

"I will, now let's go!" She grabbed the skeleton's hand and threw open the door, running out of the house toward Waterfall. Papyrus was amazed at her speed, but soon got ahead of her in their haste to reach Undyne's house.

Selenia's heart was racing, its beat echoing into her ears as she ran. Her worry was building each second she didn't see Frisk as they rounded corners. She pushed herself to keep going, her legs aching each time her feet made contact with the ground; this had been the furthest she had run in a long time and her body would be paying for it later. They soon came to the juncture that lead to Undyne's house, and saw said fish woman coming toward them from the way to Hotland.

"UNDYNE!" Papyrus called to her, being the first to reach the guard.

"Hey nerds, what's up?" She immediately seemed to catch on to something being wrong.

"Have… you seen a kid… come through here?" The human panted, taking a moment to catch her breath.

"A kid?" Her yellow eye narrowed in thought. "No I haven't seen any recently, why?" The duo looked at one another and the skeleton nodded to the human.

"Another human fell down here." Selenia started, watching as Undyne tensed. "They're the kid I used to babysit and now adopted younger sibling. So please, hear me out…"

"I told all of you to let me know when another human fell down!" The fish woman growled, anger rising.

"Take your anger out on me then, later even. I have to find my sibling before they reach your king and do something stupid!" The human took off past the two monsters, getting calls of wait as she headed for Hotland. Her breathing became harder as she entered the lava filled area, heading straight for the lab. She threw the door open when she reached it, startling both Sans and Alphys.

"kid what are you doing here?" The skeleton was shocked over the humans disheveled appearance; her hair was a mess, some sticking to her sweat covered brow and neck, her sweater hanging lopsidedly off her shoulder and one of her knee high socks had slipped down to bunch around her ankle.

"Have your cameras caught sight of them, Alphys?" She ignored the shorter brother, instantly coming to the doctor's side to stare at the large monitor of her computer.

"Y-yes! They're in H-hotland heading t-toward the Core. We h-have Mettaton slowing them d-down."

"Alright, that gives me time to catch up to them." Selenia turned to head for the exit, but a blue glow surrounded her form held her in place. "What the…?" She tried to continue forward to no avail, turning her head to stare back at the two monsters. The skeleton had a hand lifted, the same blue glow surrounding it.

"you're not going anywhere, kid." Sans was using his magic to stop her, an evanescent flame circling his single, cyan glowing eye. "you're going to exhaust yourself if you keep going the way you are."

"Let me go, Sans." Her voice was a soft growl as she stared back at him. He had never used his magic against her before, but was too angry at the halt of her finding her sibling to care.

"He's r-right, though!" Alphys was just as worried about the human's wellbeing as he was. "Y-you need to rest and regain y-your strength!" At about that same time, the door opened a panting Undyne and very worried Papyrus stepping onto the scene.

"Hey punk, why'd you run off like that?" The fish woman glowered at the human, who was still held in place by magic.

"We were worried about you." Papyrus was wringing his hands restlessly.

"I need to get to Frisk!" Selenia glared at the four monsters before her. "Don't you understand!?"

"We know that, Human. We are just worried about your health." The tall skeleton spoke first.

"You look like shit, punk."

"U-undyne!" Alphys berated the guard's harsh words, who only shrugged in response; it was the truth after all.

"you just got over being sick, kid. If you don't stop and rest you're going to make yourself sick again." Sans tried to reason with the irate woman. "we're your pals, right? We don't want to see you hurt." She felt worry and comfort wash through her from the blue magic.

"I can't lose them…" Her voice was defeated as she raked her gaze over her four friends. "I don't know what I… if my soul could handle…" Her eye screwed tightly shut.

"We're here to help you, punk." The human received a confident grin from Undyne.

"Y-you and your s-sibling will be alright!" Alphys had a light blush on her cheeks, but looked optimistic.

"YES HUMAN, THERE IS NO NEED TO FRET!" Papyrus looked upon her with brotherly affection.

"there's nothing to worry about, kid. Let us take care of this." Sans winked her way, letting his magic fade at her lack of resistance. His normal white, eye lights returned.

"You guys…" Mixed emotions were flowing through Selenia, mostly the overwhelming feeling of actually being cared about. She broke down into sobs in front of them, more of her previously built up walls crumbling down. Her disheveled form shook and looked extremely fragile. The brothers were the first to reach her, taking her into their arms, then the guard and scientist, wrapping her in a blanket of comfort and love.

"You're all… too good to me… I don't deserve friends like you." The human choked out between sobs.

"You let us take care of this while you rest." Undyne spoke as they all pulled away from her. "One of you needs to get to MTT Resort and see if you can stall the kid. I'll give Asgore a call and tell him not to hurt the kid if they slip past us." The fish woman stalked off to one of the spare rooms for some call privacy.

"I'll head to the resort." Sans looked at his brother. "make sure she rests, pap."

"I WILL MAKE SURE OF IT!" Papyrus saluted. The shorter skeleton gave the teary eyed human a fleeting look before vanishing. "Will you be alright, human?" His voice had lowered as he sat a hand on her shoulder.

"I-I should be fine, Paps." Selenia let a small smile grace her lips. "I just need to clean up a little bit. Mind if I use your bathroom, Als?" She used the nick name she gave the doctor.

"No, g-go right ahead!" The dinosaur woman was focusing on the computer monitor. The human quickly hurried off, wanting to wash her face and try to calm down. As the automated door closed behind her, she found herself in an elevator instead of the bathroom, like the sign had suggested. She debated with herself to see where the elevator took her or just to exit and fins the actual bathroom. Curiosity got the better of her as she pushed the button to take her down to the basement levels of the lab. She leaned against the rail inside as it started to descend, pulling her fingers through her hair to straighten it out. A loud beeping noise caught her attention, a flashing light in the corner of the lift coming to life.

A robotic voice blasted from the speakers as the lift began to stutter and shake. "WARNING! WARNING!" The light started flashing red and Selenia began to panic. "ELEVATOR LOSING POWER! EM TETHER STABILITY LOST!" Her heart was pounding rapidly in her chest, her hands gripping the rail so hard that her knuckles turned white. "ALTITUDE DROPPING!" A scream tore from her throat as gravity started to take hold of the metal box, plunging her to the floor at an odd angle on her legs.

"NO! No no no no no no!" Her eye was clenched tight to keep the light out. "I can't die here!" She cried out as the elevator continued to fall. A glowing green started to emanate from her chest, her soul reacting to her panic and will to live. It surrounded her with a green bubble to hopefully shield her from the impact of the lift hitting the ground. In her panic induced haze, the woman blacked out.

~This break brought to you by MTT Resort!~

Sans quietly waited in front of the resort, his eye lights trained on the path before him. The kid would be showing up any minute and the time line would fall into its normal routine of him asking Frisk to chat with him in the restaurant. He was pondering over how some of the words would come out when the child was suddenly in front of him. They were panting due to the heat of Hotland and probably also from Mettaton trying to stop them.

"hey, I heard you're going to the core." The skeleton eyed the child closely, the usual words flowing naturally from him. "how about grabbing some dinner with me first?"

"Sans I don't have time for this." Frisk replied a little coldly, the determination on their face shining through.

"then let's just have a little chat inside, yeah?" He gave off an air that the kid couldn't say no to so they relented. "great. Over here. I know a short cut." They followed behind him on the usual routine and in the blink of an eye they were both seated in the restaurant at a Mettaton shaped table. "well, here we are."

"I already know what you're going to say." The kid crossed their arms on the table, calculating eyes staring the skeleton down. "How I would have been dead where I stood if you hadn't talked to Toriel."

"this time around though, there's someone else that really cares about you." Sans copied the child, his voice firm. "she's very unsettled that you ran off the way you did. Not answering her calls-"

"You know I have to get to the barrier to free everyone." A look of guild crossed their features, but their voice held strong.

"she ran the whole way from Snowdin to the lab with no breaks because she doesn't want to lose you, kid." He watched the human deflate. "she wanted to keep going to find you, would have risked herself becoming sick again for your safety. We stopped her at the lab and had to force her emotions into play to make her stop to take a breather." He saw guild over weigh the child, watching as tears started to flood their eyes.

"I… it's my fault she's in this position?" Frisk's voice was watery.

"she loves you, buddy. Told me herself she always thought of you as the younger sibling she never had." Sans leaned back in his chair, hands behind his skull as he rocked it back on two legs. "she's got that big sibling mentality that makes you want to do everything to keep your younger sibling safe." The young human could tell he was talking from experience.

"I'll finish this thing with Mettaton, then head to the lab." The determined look returned to the child's face. "Then Lenna and I will do this together, free all of you!"

"alright, buddy. Remember we're all counting on you." With that Sans stood and shuffled out the same way he came in, his magic igniting as he disappeared.

~This break brought to you by Instant Noodles! Better when dry!~

Selenia hissed as her vision returned to her, aches and pains traveling the length of her body as she tried to sit up. Most of the pain she realized was concentrated in her lags, be it from how far she had run or the force of the falling elevator she had no clue. The now silent alarm ad lack of the flashing light made her guess that the terrifying ride had come to a stop and the elevator had reached the bottom most floor. She slowly used the rails to help herself stand, legs protesting the entire time.

The pain made her suck in a breath through her teeth, a sharp hiss echoing into the silence around her. She noted that the door had opened and a faint glow was permeating the darkness of the metal box. Agonizingly, and using the rails and wall to steady herself, the human led herself out into the dim light. As she stepped out of the elevator the metal doors slid to close behind her. "Guess I'm stuck down here for a bit." She muttered. "Damn my curiosity."

Gripping to the left wall for support, Selenia slowly started down the hall, boots clicking on the cracked and stained blue-green tiles under foot. In front of her was a monitor that flickered to life as she approached. Green, digitized writing was on the screen, and curiosity once more got the better of her as she read through the entry. She was starting to grow concerned as she kept going, reading more entries along the wall and realizing that they were Alphys' notes on her research of 'determination' and what it did when it was injected into a monster host.

She eventually came to a room filled with beds. Breathing a sigh of relief she stumbled her way to the closest one, tripping over an empty pet bowl in the process. Her knees hit the ground hard, making her whimper in pain as the skin broke. The human crawled the rest of the way to the bed, pulling herself onto the dusty mattress. With some difficulty she brought one of her legs closer to her face, seeing that her knee was covered in dust, a bit of blood and some strange white, sticky gunk.

Carefully wiping some of the foreign substance off, she gathered it and rolled it between her fingers. She was put off by the fact that it felt like a mix of Jell-o and play dough; able to hold some kind of form but would jiggle if it was moved. She hurriedly flung the substance away from her, getting chills the longer she touched it. As quickly as possible, she cleaned off both of her legs to the best of her ability before flopping back onto the bed in exhaustion.

Selenia pulled her phone from her pocket, questioning herself as to why she hadn't tried to contact the others earlier. She let the phone call the first number in her list, not really caring who it was as she put it on speaker.

"S-Selenia?!" Alphys' worried voice answered the phone after four rings.

"Hey Als." A small smile was brought to the human's face.

"Where a-are you?"

"Basement of the lab; curiosity got the better of me when I saw the 'bathroom' was an elevator." She heard panic in her shy friend's voice. "Don't worry, I'm fine. My legs are a little worse for wear but I'm okay."

"Oh m-my gosh!" The doctor was definitely in panic mode now. "J-just hold on! I'll b-be down there r-right away!" The human didn't even get to respond as the line went dead.

Sighing, Selenia returned the phone to her pocket and closed her eyes hoping to rest for a few moments. That rest did not come, however as a low, watery growl broke the silence. Slowly raising herself upright, the human stared at a dripping, white, dog-shaped figure. The amorphous creature had at least five legs, from what she could see, and a large orifice in the center of what could be assumed was its face. It was clinging from the ceiling a few feet away, the growl intensifying as her eye landed on it.

The smell of wet dog reached her nose, making her stare closely at the creature. "Uh… here puppy?" She beckoned to it, not sure if she should give it a gender. Upon her call the thing crashed to the floor in a puddle of white goo before reforming and bounding toward her. Its 'tail' was flicking some droplets of the gunk everywhere, and its orifice was dripping the same kind of liquid as if it was very excited.

"Good dog?" She reached a hand out toward the looming creature, gracing it with a gentle pat on the head. It started to convulse happily at the attention, humming in a strange fashion. She shivered as her hand came in contact with the beast again, still put off by the Jell-o and play dough feel of it. It climbed onto the bed with her, wrapping its body and legs about her form. Its head rested in her lap, almost looking up at her as if asking if it could be pet again. She reluctantly obliged, continuing to pet the strange dog creature as it hummed in content, its whole body wiggling.

More creatures like the 'dog' passed through the area every now and again, but kept a wide berth from her due to her new found friend. Quite a few of the creatures resembled some of the monsters she had met from either the Ruins, Snowdin or Waterfall, making her start to question what had happened. The few entries she had read about using human determination on monsters started flowing back to her.

A loud crash startled her from her thoughts, making the human look up from the way she had entered the room. The creature surrounding her form let out a soft, protective growl, its orifice staring the same way she was.

"HEY PUNK!" The sound of Undyne's loud voice soothed her nerves.

"S-Selenia?" Alphys' voice was the loudest she's ever heard it.

"I'm in the room filled with beds!" She called to them. The two monsters rounded the corner, Undyne having a large bag of kibble balanced on one of her shoulders. They each gasped as they saw the amorphous canine wrapped around her.

"What the hell is that?!" The fish woman's eye was wide.

"E-endogeny.." Alphys was quiet, staring at the creature.

"They kept me company." Selenia pat the 'dog's' head, calming it and making it hum affectionately. "But just what is it?" Her eye turned to stare at the doctor.

"T-they're… amalgamates…" The lizard woman was looking down in shame. "Failed t-tests of introducing human d-determination into monster souls…"

"This is what happened to those monsters that fell down?" Undyne's voice was soft, staring at the canine creature.

"The determination p-proved to be t-too much for their b-bodies to handle. S-some of them started to m-melt and when others came to h-help them… it began a c-chain reaction…" Alphys turned her gaze to her feet. "I d-didn't know how to f-fix them b-back to normal… so t-they've been here e-ever since…"

"You saved them from dying though." Selenia continued to pat 'Endogeny's' head. "Their families have to be grateful for that."

"The f-families know they're a-alive… but t-they don't know about h-how the determination affected them…" Alphys looked close to tears about all of this being found out.

"Al… they have to go back to their families." Undyne placed a gentle hand on her crush's back. "They may not be the same as they once were, but they're alive. We can explain to them what happened and they'll understand."

"W-we?" This is m-my fault though…" The doctor stared between the two other females.

"We're your friends, Als." Selenia smiled. "We don't think any differently of you and we're here to support you no matter what. We all care about you, silly and that's not going to change." Tears finally started to fall from the lizard woman's eyes.

"Some of us love you a bit more than others though…" Undyne confessed, wrapping an arm around the crying doctor, who looked up to the taller woman with tear filled orbs. The human looked away to give them their moment as Endogeny 'ruffed' its approval. The two broke apart, blushing.

"So… um… is the elevator working or?" Said human glanced to the side.

"Nah, we jumped down here!" The fish woman received a horrified look. "I do it all the time, we're fine, punk."

"I'll g-go turn the power back on." Alphys shuffled off to do just that. The canine creature quickly moved its amorphous form to follow the doctor.

"Soooooo…" Selenia grinned at the guard, mischief shining in her eye. "Finally got bold enough to tell her how you feel I see. Decided against writing a note then?"

"Oh… shut up." Undyne was blushing and a little flustered. "And I slipped a note into her pocket asking her on a date." A few minutes passed by in companionable silence. Alphys quickly returned with a smile on her face. She relayed to them that she had called the families and told them that their loved ones would be coming home.

"W-we should be set to take the elevator back u-up now." The doctor seemed happy, like a huge weight had been lifted from her shoulders. She stood up straighter, and smiled a little brighter.

"Sounds good, but can I possibly get a hand? My legs are kind of out of commission." The human admitted with embarrassment.

"No problem, punk." The guard picked the human up before throwing her into a piggy back stance. Selenia loosely wrapped her arms around the taller woman's shoulders to keep herself from falling off. The trio made their way to the elevator and rode it back up to the top floor.

"HUMAN!" Was the greeting from Papyrus as the females came into view. He plucked the human from his mentor's back and cradled her close to his chest. "DO NOT SCARE US LIKE THAT AGAIN!" He scolded.

"I'll try not to, Paps." She giggled, hugging him.

"glad to see you're okay, kid." Sans grinned at her. The taller brother sat her down on her feet, which almost immediately made her knees buckle. The shorter skeleton wrapped an arm around her waist to keep her steady. "geeze, didn't think you'd fall for me like that."

"Shut up, Sans." Selenia spoke good naturedly, a blush lighting her cheeks.

"Oh darling, I simply cannot let Asgore take your soul to destroy humanity~" A flamboyant voice reached everyone's ears, the sound coming from the computer and catching their attention. "So I'm going to take it for myself! That way I can cross the barrier and live my dream of performing for the humans!"

"No!" Selenia stumbled roughly out of Sans' grip to the console, staring up at the boxy, robot celebrity Mettaton and Frisk, who held a determined look on their face. "No no no!" Someone do something!" The child's bright red soul was dragged from their chest as the battle began.

A/N~ Hello lovelies! Sorry it took a little longer to get out than the last couple, but this chapter gave me a bit of a headache when it came to events! But it's here now =D If you're curious by the way about how I imagine Selenia looks you can check it out here raveidarkfire .tumblr just remove the spaces or whatever! Anyways lovelies, I hope you have a brilliant day =D


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9

Selenia gaped at the computer screen, watching helplessly as Frisk faced off against Mettaton. The robot had drawn out the child's soul, ready to take it for himself. "What can we do?" The distress was clear in her voice.

"W-well there's a switch on his b-back that can make him transform and use up h-his battery f-faster." Alphys supplied. The human quickly pulled out her phone, dialing in the younger human's number. It rang a few times, the sound echoing through the speakers. They all watched as the child answered.

"Frisk!" The older human's stressed voice reverberated back to everyone in the lab.

"Lenna?" They seemed surprised by her voice.

"Get that bucket of bolts to turn around! There's a switch on his back that will drain his power! Don't you dare let him take your soul!" Her voice was frantic but strong, bringing a determined look to Frisk's face.

"Don't worry, sis. I've got this, love you!" They smiled into the camera, as if they knew she was watching. The phone cut off as everyone in the lab continued to watch. "Hey Mettaton! There's a mirror behind you!" The child pointed to the empty space over the robot's shoulder. He lit up at the thought of checking himself out.

"Well I must look my absolute best!" Mettaton turned on his wheel, exposing the large switch on his back. Frisk quickly ran up and flipped it, making the robot freeze. "Did you just… Flip my switch?" He started to convulse, sparks flying as if he were short circuiting. A loud mechanical whir filled the air before a fog filled the camera's lens. "Oh yessssss!" His voice became less mechanical sounding as two spot lights turned on over a human like figure in the mist.

"Oh my… If you flicked my switch that can only mean one thing…" There was a pause for dramatic effect. "You're desperate for the premiere of my new body. How rude… Lucky for you, I've been aching to show this off for a long time. So… as thanks, I'll give you a handsome reward. I'll make your last living moments…" The robot paused again as the fog cleared, revealing a tall, human like machine clad in black and pink with flowing dark hair covering the right side of his face. "ABSOLUTELY beautiful!"

Everyone in the lab was speechless at the transformation. Papyrus' whole face was glowing tangerine, and his nose would probably have been bleeding if he had the parts required to do so. "Wowie…"

"Oh… Um… Well wasn't expecting him to look like that…" Selenia's face was also flushed, more so when the robot started posing in some seductive looking ways.

"Uh yeah… I-I kind of fashioned h-him after an anime character." Alphys begrudgingly admitted, her face flushing with embarrassment.

"He looks great nonetheless." The human turned her gaze back to the screen, stiffening as she saw Frisk moving their soul to doge attacks the robot sent after them. "I really hate sitting here and doing nothing while this is going on…" She muttered.

"the kid wanted to do this you know." Sans had come up beside her, his eye lights focused on her.

"Why though?" She was biting her lip. "I mean I remember them being very independent, but putting their soul on the line like this is reckless…"

"and this is coming from the same human, who a few nights ago told me they would have willingly given up their soul for the greater good." He smirked at her.

"That was different." She tried to defend herself, but it fell short as Alphys gasped, drawing their vision back to the computer monitor. It seemed that the draining of Mettaton's battery came with another price. The star's arms had completely fallen off; the sockets where they had been were releasing puffs of steam.

"M-Mettaton!" The doctor looked devastated at the condition her creation and friend was in.

"He'll be alright, Al. We'll just have to bring him back and recharge him." Undyne wrapped a comforting arm around the lizard woman.

"I k-know, it's still difficult to w-watch though…" Alphys looked about as helpless as the human felt.

They all continued to watch, Frisk striking poses and doing whatever they could to help Mettaton's view count rise. The robot's legs fell off the same way his arms had after a while, the view count being well over ten thousand. "This is the most viewers I've ever had!" The star was smiling, even though he was just a head and torso. "We've reached the viewer call-in milestone! One lucky viewer will have the chance to talk to me… Before I leave the Underground forever! Let's see who calls in first!" A phone ringing played through the speakers. "Hi, you're on TV! What do you have to say on this, our last show?"

"Oh…" The voice that replied sounded low, meek and echoing, reminding the human of a ghost she had met in the ruins. "Hi… Mettaton… I really liked watching your show… My life is pretty boring… but… seeing you on the screen… brought excitement to my life… vicariously. I can't tell, but… I guess this is the last episode…?" The voice seemed to get sadder. "I'll miss you… Mettaton… Oh… I didn't mean to talk so long… Oh…." The line went dead and the star looked upset for a moment as he called out for them to wait.

"I'll take another caller!" The rest of the calls went about the same way, making the robot have a change of heart. "I should stay down here. Humans have many celebrities… but the Underground only has me… but you can do it, you can get past Asgore and help us all…"

"I will, don't worry Mettaton!" Frisk ran up to the star's torso, wrapping their arms around him in a hug.

"My battery is going to run out soon." The robot was smiling, the beginnings of oily tears in his eyes. "I'll be alright. Knock them dead, darling. And everyone else… Thank you." The feed cut off as the light started to flicker out in his eyes.

"So that's it… Let's go get him and bring him back to recharge." Undyne finally released her hold on the doctor, who was vigorously nodding her head. "C'mon Pap, we're going to need your help."

"YES MA'MA!" The three of them got what was needed and headed out to pick up the robot. The adrenaline was finally fading from Selenia, her legs shaking from the effort of keeping herself upright. An arm snaked around her waist to steady her almost instantly.

"let's get you off your feet, kid." Sans led her over to a chair in front of a desk that was over flowing with papers.

"Thanks, Sans." Selenia smiled up at him, happy to finally be able to give her legs the much needed rest they deserved. "I don't remember the last time I was this lame." She laughed.

"you're having some after effects from being sick, and it doesn't help that you pushed yourself so hard today." He watched as she rolled her eye.

"Okay, dad." She smirked at him.

"oh careful, I might have a secret daddy kink you don't know about." He laughed as her facial expression changed to one of shock and she blushed terribly.

"Nope, not doing this right now!" She covered her face with her hands to try and hide.

"guess that means I win." He grinned at her.

"That's not something you just say!" The human whined in defeat.

"did it really fluster you that much?" His tone changed to one that seemed concerned.

"I like the teasing and all, but the suggestive teasing really gets to me…" She uncovered her face, the pink still dusting her cheeks.

"I can stop it if it makes you uncomfortable." Sans turned his gaze from her, nervously rubbing the back of his skull.

"It's not that, it's just… I haven't had that kind of teasing since before…" She motioned in the general vicinity of her missing eye. "Humans aren't the nicest when it comes to someone being different… physically or mentally."

"is that the reason you decided to fall down here?" He watched her carefully, leaning back on the desk and hoping to get his curiosity sated.

"In all honesty?" She glanced at him before her gaze fell to her beat up knees. "I didn't know I'd fall down here. All we know on the surface is that some people that came to Mt. Ebott disappeared and were never heard from again. I guess I came to the mountain to disappear myself."

"as in die?" He supplied, but she shook her head.

"No, I'm not suicidal. Slightly depressed maybe, but I would never kill myself. As I told you before, I had no one; no friends, no family, no one who would even think twice about me." Selenia turned her head, staring blankly at him. "I was truly and utterly alone, and that loneliness was tearing me apart."

"so that's why you said about giving up your soul without a fight before you met us..." Sans shook his skull.

"Loneliness is the worst thing…" A sad smile crossed her lips. She reached out, taking his boney hand in hers. "I've got you now though, all of you. This is the happiest I've been in years and I wouldn't trade it for anything."

"glad we're able to help you out, kid." He smiled back at her, giving her hand a gentle squeeze.

"I'm not going to get used to you guys caring about me over night, fair warning. Mostly because I'm in the habit now of doing everything myself." She grinned, albeit a little sheepishly.

"don't sweat it; we'll be here with you every step of the way." They both started when Selenia's phone started to ring. She pulled the device out and put it on speaker.

"Hello?"

"Lenna!" Hearing Frisk's voice calmed what was left of her nerves.

"Hey there squirt. You had me worried sick you know that!?" Her tone went from relieved to scolding in an instant.

"I know… and I'm sorry, but Lenna…"

"No buts! Papyrus and two of our other friends are heading your way to pick up Mettaton and bring him back to the lab to recharge his battery, and you best be coming back with them or so help me-"

"Lenna!" The kid shouting broke her train of thought. "We have to help them! We have to go see the king and talk to him!" They seemed frantic.

"We'll talk about that when you get here." The older human left no room for argument.

"Okay…" The duo heard the child sigh. "I'll see you when we get there…"

"See you then, squirt." She ended the call and shook her head.

"that was kind of harsh don't you think?" Sans had his hands in the pockets of his hoodie, a look of concern on his features.

"You should know where I'm coming from." She gave him a pointed look, flipping the phone over in her hands. "Since you have Paps to look out for."

"never been that stern with him though." He shrugged.

"Everyone has different ways of scolding."

"have some trust in the kid, from what I've seen they're pretty tough." He smirked. "you could say that they're _thick skinned_." She let out a mixture of a groan and a laugh.

"Damn it Sans, why can't I stay mad at you?" She shook her head. "You just seem to be able to _tickle my funny bone_ in the right ways."

"heh, good one kid." The skeleton had his usual grin on. "glad I don't get _under your skin_ that bad." The two continued telling one another really bad puns and random knock-knock jokes to pass the time. The human was starting to feel drowsy but forced herself to stay awake until the others came back. She rubbed at her eye to try and postpone the sleep from coming.

The duo looked up when the lab door opened, revealing the group of monsters and human child. Frisk frowned as they took in the appearance of their sister as they rushed up to her. "Lenna I'm so sorry I worried you." They whimpered, awkwardly hugging the sitting woman.

"Hey, it's alright, squirt." Selenia beamed, before hissing as they bumped into her brush burnt knees.

"Ah, I'm sorry are you okay?" An unsure look was on their face, eyes focused on her knees. "This is my fault…"

"Kiddo relax." The older human tilted her sibling's head to look them in the eye. "I'm the klutz that tripped and fell, and a bit of an idiot for running the way I did. None of that was your fault, you hear?"

"Still… I'm sorry for worrying you…"

"It's alright, I'm just glad that you're safe and unharmed." Her smile turned to a more neutral look. "But we have something else to talk about. Mom should probably know about it as well."

"Do we have to let mom know?" The child looked nervous at the prospect.

"We probably should… I mean she did tell you to keep away from an Asgore right?" They nodded. "And that's the name of your king correct?" One of the monsters gave their confirmation.

"He's a loveable fluff ball though. You should have no problem talking to him." Undyne spoke up.

"H-he's one of the f-friendliest monsters I k-know." Alphys stuttered while instructing the others on where to put the fallen robot's parts. Papyrus, who was carrying the star's legs and blushing profusely, placed down the objects with great care. The doctor then hooked Mettaton up to recharge his battery.

"So he's really a nice guy… but he's killed how many humans for their souls?" Selenia rose a skeptical brow.

"I believe them, Lenna." Frisk was gently playing with the older human's hand, tracing the lines of her palm. "They're your friends, you should trust them."

"I do trust them, kiddo, but I'm still kind of apprehensive about the whole thing." She sighed. "I would really like to call mom and ask for her advice on the subject at least."

"She's not going to like this…" The child warned.

"She probably won't like it, we'll both get grounded for going against her wishes but it would be better to tell her now rather than later." She winked at them. "Besides, we have a king to have a chat with."

"Wait, what?" Frisk was taken back by their sister's words. "We're actually going to go and talk with him?!"

"I know you don't give up without with-out a fight, squirt. So maybe I should take after you a bit." The older human grinned as the kid hugged her tightly.

"you're both going to rest before any of this right?" Sans shot a look from one human to the other.

"Yes, Sans." Selenia rolled her eye. "I know my body's reached its limit; can't even stand on my own at this point." Her gaze turned to Frisk. "You're probably pretty pooped as well huh, squirt?" They nodded.

"Y-you guys can use s-some of the spare r-rooms if you'd like." Alphys finally turned her orbs away from piecing Mettaton back together to give them a nod.

"Thanks for the hospitality, Als." The older human smiled at her friend.

"c'mon kiddo, let's get you set up." The shorter skeleton wrapped an arm around the woman's back, the other one lifting under her knees to carry her bridal style. She blushed terribly at the contact, mumbling about this not being necessary. She coughed a glimpse of Undyne smirking at her predicament as the older brother carried her off to one of the rooms. Frisk followed along behind them with mischief in their gaze.

"You didn't have to carry me in here, Sans." She spoke up as he sat her down on a hard, hospital like bed. "But thank you." Her cheeks were still dusted pink as she smiled at him.

" _snow_ problem, kid." The skeleton returned her smile with a tired one of his own.

"Are you gonna be okay, Lenna?" Frisk was staring at her knees.

"I should be fine, just realized I should start jogging again." She tried to lighten the mood. She noted both of them looked as exhausted as she felt. "You both can stay with me if you'd like."

"I want to talk to the others and get to know them a little more." The child shook their head, scurrying out of the room before she could protest.

"you sure you don't mind at least one of us staying with you?" Sans stared at her with tired eye lights.

"I don't mind at all… just don't want to be alone right now." She patted the spot beside her, which he quickly filled. The human leaned over, resting her head on his shoulder in contentment. "And thanks again for being here, Sans."

"no problem, kid. Happy to help, even if it's as a pillow." He teased, earning an amused glare.

"Can't help it, you're pretty comfy for a bag of bones." She poked at his arm playfully.

"none of that now. You need sleep." He chided.

"Everything's gonna hurt worse when I wake up though…" She pouted up at him. "Legs are going to be stiff as boards."

"stop being stubborn." The skeleton snickered.

"Neverrrrr" She grinned, but dissolved into laughed as he started to tickle her sides. "No, no, no! Stop!" She yelped between laughs. "Okay! Alright! I'll sleep!" His phalanges stilled their movements.

"good, because you'll need what strength you can get if you're going through with seeing Asgore." His words were somber.

"I know." The mood shifted. "I'm kind of scared of meeting him to be honest." Her head was back on his shoulder.

"he's really not a bad guy, probably will ask if you want a cup of tea or something." His hand was gently rubbing her back.

"That doesn't sound too bad, but I still can't forgive him for the people he's killed." Selenia sighed, leaning into his touch. "I still have to call mom and see what she thinks as well." She stared down at the phone she never put back in her pocket. "She's going to be mad."

"she'll be worried, no doubt about that." Sans' eye lights focused on the phone as well. "just do it and get it over with." He felt her nod and watched as she hit the speed dial for Toriel's number, setting the phone to speaker.

"Hello, this is Toriel." The goat woman's cheerful voice came through after three rings.

"Hi mom, how are you?" The human was nervous, her words coming out quickly.

"I am doing well, my child. How are you and your sibling?"

"We're both doing okay." She didn't dare say what happened to each of them earlier. "But I need your advice on something."

"Does it have to deal with that boy you're interested in?" The duo heard the tease in the older woman's words.

"Mom no!" Selenia was blushing profusely now, eyes wide. Sans was staring at her questioningly as well.

"Still haven't told him how you feel, I take it?"

"Frisk and I are going to see the king!" She blurted out to get off the embarrassing subject.

"…WHAT?!" Toriel's voice became frantic, listing off many different questions in quick succession before the human could answer. "No, I'm coming to both of you now. We will 'talk' to Asgore as a family. Where are you two at?"

"We're at the lab in Hotland with our friends…" There was a click from the other end of the phone and then a dial tone. The goat woman hung up without saying good bye. "Oh shit…" Selenia was staring at the phone in horror.

"heh… oh man, wasn't expecting that kind of reaction out of her, huh?" Sans grinned tightly at her.

"I've fucked up… Mother Hen Toriel is on duty…" She swallowed hard. "The king is going to get a stern talking to… me and Frisk included."

The two sat in silence for a while, the human contemplating her actions as she leaned against the skeleton. He had continued to rub her back and rested his skull against her head. Frisk came back into the room eventually, mentally awing at the two before noticing the ghostly look on their sister's face. "Lenna?"

"Squirt, I've done goofed." Selenia's voice was weak. "Mom's on her way here…"

"Oh no… Lenna why?" The child whined, displeased.

"She needed to know what we were doing and now she's in mother hen mode…" The two humans were staring each other down. "I goofed bad…"

"we should get ready for her arrival. You two need to get some rest." Sans looked between the two and moved to stand.

"Noooo, do you have to stop being my pillow?" The older human pouted sleepily.

"for now yes." He smirked at her. "I'll be your pillow some other time, okay?"

"Fine." He waved to the two as he exited the room to tell the others of their oncoming guest. As soon as the door closed, Frisk smirked at her.

"So you and Sans are pretty cozy…" Their eyebrows wiggled at the suggestion.

"Not you teasing me now too…" She groaned, giving the child a glare.

"You guys would look cute together." They plopped themselves into the empty space the skeleton left beside her and laid back on the bed.

"He only sees me as a friend, squirt, and don't go getting your hopes up." Selenia flopped back onto the bed herself and stretched, relieving some of her tense muscles.

"You never know~" They sing-songed.

"he can always find someone prettier and undamaged." She sighed.

"Lenna no." Frisk faced her, stern look on their face. "You're pretty and smart, and it doesn't matter how broken you are; if they love you for being you that's all that matters."

"Nice advice for an eight year old." She smirked. "Someone's been watching romantic movies."

"No, I just know how to flirt with everyone and make them feel better." They beamed at her.

"Alright, Squirt the Flirt." They both laughed. "Let's get some sleep, shall we?"

"Yeah." The child turned and cuddled into her. They were almost instantly asleep, soft snores signaling their slumber. The older human smiled at her sibling, brushing some stray locks of hair from their face before she also settled down. Exhaustion finally took over her aching form, drawing her into the dreamless darkness.

 **A/N** ~ hello lovelies! Chapter 9 is complete! Yay! It took a little bit longer to get out since my birthday was on Sunday and all that but it's here! Hope you enjoyed and feel free to leave me feedback! It means so much to hear back from you guys! 3 Have a great day and see you soon =D


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10

It had been well over twelve hours since Sans left the humans to sleep. The younger of the two was up almost two hours ago, the older still blissfully in dream land. He had told the others that they were expecting a guest, but not the identity of said person. Frisk was the one who told them it was their and Selenia's mother.

Mettaton had only been online for a while again as well, with an upgraded battery and had been fawning over the poor kid since they woke up. They were taking the attention in stride though, happily talking with the star. Papyrus and Undyne were off making everyone breakfast and Alphys was working on getting the Amalgamates home. The only one missing from the excitement was the older human, and the short skeleton was starting to worry about her.

He started walking to the room where she was sleeping, his skull poking through the door. She was sleeping peacefully, the steady rise and fall of her chest signaling that she was alive. A relieved sigh passed his teeth that she was in peace; he had woken up a few times in the past to see she was having nightmares. She wouldn't talk about them to him or said she didn't remember them enough to speak about them. Then again he never talked about his own nightmares to anyone either, but mostly everyone never remembered the past timelines, so he had no reason to talk about them.

"Sans?" Her tired voice broke him from his thoughts. She was sleepily staring over at him, a confused look on her face.

"mornin' kid." He fully entered the room, meandering his way to sit beside her. "we're still in the lab, Frisk is still here and your mom hasn't arrived yet." He counted off on his digits. "oh and Pap and Undyne haven't burnt down the kitchen while making breakfast." The human hummed as he sat on the edge of the bed. An arm wrapped around his ribs, forcefully pulling him back on the bed. She was instantly curled up to him, her head resting just under his mandible.

"Pillow's back, yay…" Selenia murmured.

"heh, cuddly aren't you?" He chuckled, the sound reverberating into her being and making her shiver. "how're your legs doing?"

"Ugh." She groaned. "I don't even want to think about them." He reached down, applying gentle pressure to her outer thigh. Her response was a sharp hiss.

"yeah not looking too good if that was any indication." He frowned. "how do you feel about someone using healing magic on you?"

"If it makes my legs feel almost normal I'm A-Okay with it." She tried to stretch, only to hiss again as she moved her legs. "This means I'll lose my pillow again doesn't it?"

"yeah." He chuckled at her pout. "what makes an old bag of bones like me comfortable to you anyway?"

"Because it's you." He felt her shrug. "You just seem to be able to bring me the most comfort, physically, mentally, all that mushy crap." She was blushing, but he couldn't see it as she had buried her face into his jacket. "I'm weird, okay?"

"okay." He laughed, stroking his phalanges through her hair. "want me to go get pap so he can heal you up now?"

"Yeah, don't want mom to chew me out more for hurting myself this bad." A humorless laugh escaped her as she detached herself from him.

"I'll be right back." The skeleton stood sluggishly and meandered his was from the room to the kitchen. He was shocked that there weren't nearly as many charred spots as he thought there would be. It seemed the two taller members of their group were being more cautious since this kitchen didn't belong to one or the other.

"GOOD MORNING, BROTHER!" Papyrus greeted.

"mornin' what are you two making?" Sans tried to see what was in the pans but got shooed away.

"It's a secret, nerd." Undyne's single eye glared at him.

"alright, alright, I just wanted to steal pap for a bit." His hands were in his hoodie pockets.

"YOU KNOW THAT I CANNOT JUST LEAVE MY COOKING!"

"Selenia needs your healing magic, bro. her legs aren't doing too well." That instantly caught the attention of the taller skeleton.

"Is she alright besides that?" The fish woman looked over her shoulder, concern in her voice.

"seems like, just nervous about her mom showing up." Sans shrugged.

"You take care of her Paps. I've got the rest of this." Undyne waved them off. The brothers then made their way to the room where the older human was staying.

"Oh darling you are absolutely stunning to look at!" The flamboyant voice reached them as they entered the room. Frisk was sitting beside their sister on the bed, watching with a grin as Mettaton fluttered about fawning over her. Selenia had managed to sit herself up right with much difficulty, and was blushing madly from the star's praise.

The older human looked up, noticing the skeleton brothers standing just inside the door way and smiled over at them. She waved them over and grinned at the star struck look that passed over the taller brother's features. "Have you met these two yet, Mettaton?" She watched the robot shake his head as he glanced at the two. "The shorter one is Sans, and the taller is Papyrus, who is one of your biggest fans."

"Oh my, truly?" Mettaton beamed at them. "It is nice to meet you, darlings!"

"N-nice t-t-to meet you as well, M-Mettaton." Papyrus was stuttering, tangerine lighting up his cheek bones. They were staring at one another for a while before Sans cleared his nonexistent throat.

"uh, pap, healing?" The shorter skeleton reminded.

"OH RIGHT!" His whole facial area was glowing now as he knelt down in front of the humans. "This may be slightly uncomfortable." He warned, delicately touching the older human's shin.

"I trust you, Paps." Selenia smiled reassuringly.

"Just hold still, human." The taller brother instructed as his hands started glowing that same orange color that was on his face. As the magic touched her it sent a burning sensation the whole way through her. She bit her lip to keep any sounds of pain from escaping her. She felt tendrils of the magic slipping through her skin and worming their way along her bones and muscles. In wake of the burning was a cooling sensation, like slipping from a sauna into a freezer.

Selenia whimpered as she felt the magic recede, opening her eye that she had unconsciously closed. A sigh of relief left her as she looked to the skeleton in front of her. "You were right, that was kind of uncomfortable." She grinned at him. "Thank you though, I feel a lot better." She glanced at her knees, where there was once brush burnt flesh was now simply, pink, almost fully healed marks. At a distance one could probably not even tell the difference.

"YOU ARE MOST WELCOME, HUMAN!" He beamed back at her as he stood.

"They look and feel good as new Paps, you really are the greatest!" She pushed herself to her feet.

"AH-" The tall skeleton squeaked out before she stumbled, her legs acting like wet noodles, knocking herself into Mettaton. The star held her steady. "They may be a bit numb…"

"Sorry." She tittered as she righted herself.

"It's no problem, darling." The robot was watching her in a coquettish manner. Sans was glaring at him, jealousy spiking.

"You look a lot better, Lenna!" Frisk came up and took the older human's hand, having noticed the look the shorter brother was giving the star. "Come on! Let's go see what Alphys is doing!" The child pulled their sister from the room, not giving her a choice in the matter.

The three males stood in silence for a moment before Papyrus slipped out to resume helping Undyne. Sans continued to glare toward the robot, who seemed very nonchalant. Mettaton had a hand rested on his chin as if in thought, but turned his magenta optics toward the skeleton. As he noticed the glare, he smirked deviously, making the older brother fume even more.

"Now what is that look for?" The star had false hurt in his voice.

"I'm warning you now, rust bucket, stay away from her and my brother." Sans' eye lights were pinpricks.

"Are you jealous darling? Afraid I'll steal away something you don't have?" Mettaton's smirk turned malicious as he turned on his heel and sauntered out of the room.

Sans growled lowly to himself; no matter what time line he was in he always had an extreme dislike for Mettaton. The only reason he would even watch any of the rust bucket's shows was to make his brother happy. He shook his skull and buried his hands deep into his jacket pockets, his mood sour. He slowly made his way to exit the room and put up a façade of being his usual comic self.

Selenia smiled as Endogeny curled up to her one last time, the creature's family having come to collect it. She had been surprised that its family was made up of most of the dogs she had met in Snowdin, and had to dish out many pets to them as well. She pat the large amalgamate on its squishy head, wishing it well before it and its family wandered their way back home. She was saddened to see them go but continued to smile and wave until they vanished from sight.

The older human turned and watched as Frisk flitted between all of the monsters, smiling and chatting with them constantly. It was obvious the kid loved every monster they came in contact with, and how easily they were able to talk with them. They were a natural speaker, she knew this and it made her dismayed that they didn't like what they were so good at.

She then continued to mingle with the rest of them as well. She was nowhere near the excited conversationalist that her sibling was, but still enjoyed getting to know more people. As the last few monsters filed out she waved them off and wished them well. Frisk was standing at her side doing the same.

"T-that went really s-smoothly." Alphys came up to them, a happy, relieved smile on her face. "Thank y-you both for talking with everyone."

"It's no problem, Als."

"We were happy to help!" The younger human was still excited.

"You did wonderfully, darlings!" Mettaton beamed as he strolled out to meet up with the trio. "I didn't even have to make an appearance to put everyone at ease! Marvelous job!" He wrapped an arm around both the doctor's and older human's shoulders.

"Some of them would have loved seeing you though." Selenia deftly pulled away from the star, a bad feeling sitting in the pit of her stomach from just being near him. He pouted at her retreat but turned to grin down at Frisk.

"And you my little starlet! They adored you!" He lifted the child up, who was grinning ear to ear at the praise. "You would be a fabulous talk show host!"

"No, I couldn't possibly." They shook their head with embarrassment.

"You're pretty amazing at talking with people, squirt." She winked at her sibling. "I know you're not fond of talking but you really are great at it."

"Thanks Lenna." They beamed at her.

"Hey, nerds!" Undyne called from the door, making them all turn her way. "Food's ready!" They all filed in after her, moving to the kitchen. Inside was a folding card table, loaded with different kinds of food; some which the humans had never seen before. There were enough chairs and stools littered around it to seat everyone.

Selenia immediately took a seat next to Papyrus, and smiled up at him. The hair on the back of her neck stood up as she tensed when Mettaton took the chair on her other side, a little too close for her comfort. Warning bells were going off in her head, but she kept her face neutral to not worry anyone. A plate was handed her way and she graciously accepted it.

Sans was sitting at the corner of the table beside his brother and had been carefully watching the whole situation play out. He saw how tense the older human was sitting beside the robot; how she tried to ignore his presence beside her. As everyone started to talk and laugh as they ate, the skeleton watched how the star snaked an arm around the female's shoulders, making her tense further.

Frisk had taken the seat beside the shorter brother, noting the way he was keeping vigil on their sister. They also noticed how flirty Mettaton was being with her and disliked it greatly. "Lenna?" The child's voice instantly made the woman look over at them. "Can we trade seats? I want to sit beside Mettaton."

"Of course, squirt." The star reluctantly removed his arm, a small pout on his lips. The human quickly swapped places, leaving Selenia feeling a ton more comfortable as she sat next to Sans. She smiled thankfully at her sibling, the tenseness leaving her body in waves.

"kid's perceptive." The skeleton leaned over to whisper to her.

"I am so thankful for that right now." She whispered back. "I just don't like the vibes I'm getting from Mettaton." She confessed.

"bad as in how?" His eye lights were switching from her to glance at the robot.

"Just a bad feeling, I don't trust him. I can't really explain it." She shrugged. "I don't want to be around him at all, especially since he keeps trying to cling to me." A shiver crawled up her spine.

"want me to stick close then?" She nodded subtly, bringing a perk to his ever present grin. The rest of the meal went by smoothly, though there was still a cloud of tension hanging about. As everyone finished, the humans volunteered to clean up, Sans saying he would stay to help as well.

As soon as the others left the room, Frisk rounded on their sister. "Mettaton makes you really uncomfortable, doesn't he?"

"Extremely so." Selenia was collecting empty plates to put in the sink. "I don't like that, since you introduced me to him, that he's been touchy feely." She shivered again.

"he's been touching you since then?" Sans was leaning against the counter, hands in his pockets with a scowl on his features.

"Mostly just an arm around the shoulders, but the flirtatious looks he gives me…" She shook her head. "I really don't like him. Heck, I still haven't forgiven him for trying to steal your soul either, squirt. How did you forgive him so easily?" She questioned, looking toward her sibling.

"He apologized to me when he woke up." They shrugged. "I don't blame him for it since we know everyone else wants to get out of here as well. And you're pretty good at holding grudges, Lenna. No offense."

"None taken, but he wanted to kill you. Not only that but he wanted to do it on air, where everyone else would see and think it was okay to kill others." The older human sighed, dropping the dishes into the sink. "I really just don't like being near him."

There was silence for a while as the trio cleaned; the humans doing most of the work as Sans was lost in thought. "so… how do you plan on staying away from him?" He finally questioned.

"I guess just ignoring him or sticking with everyone else but as far away from him as possible." A smirk started to form on her lips. "Or you know, spill a drink on him to make him short circuit."

"You're terrible, sis." Frisk laughed.

"What can I say? I'm a bit of a sadist." She was sniggering as well.

"I wonder when mom's going to get here."

"Crap… I forgot she was coming." Selenia groaned. "Think we still have time to run away, squirt?" The child giggled at her suggestion, but shook their head. "Darn, looks like we're getting grounded then."

The sound of a door slamming open and loud shout of 'where are my children?' made the trio jump. The kitchen door also crashed open not too long afterwards, an unsettled Toriel looming in front of them. As her magenta orbs landed on the humans she calmed ever so slightly.

"Hi, mom." The two got out, both looking sheepish.

"What exactly are you two thinking?! Have you lost your minds?!" The goat woman raged as she came within arm's length of them, her height intimidating.

"We just want everyone to see the sun…" Frisk tried reasoning.

"One of you would have to die to do that!" She was infuriated and terrified at the same time.

"That's why we wanted to talk to the king, to see if we could help find a way to free everyone without giving up our souls." The older human was trying to remain calm, but nervousness was bubbling just under the surface.

"That barbarian wouldn't have listened to you! He is a stubborn old fool that won't budge once he's made a decision!" Toriel was scowling, her arms crossed over her chest. "He didn't listen to me when I told him not to go through with this in the first place, that's why I left him!"

"Wait… so that means you knew the king way back then?" Selenia's eye was wide. "Does that mean…"

"I am the former queen." The goat woman sighed. "I know how Asgore is the best, and that is why I am worried."

"You're going to be there with us right mom?" Frisk had gone up to her and was clinging to her violet robes. They were also giving her their best puppy dog eyes.

"Of course I'll be there with you! I'll not sit idly by and watch that whelp take my children from me!" Toriel swiftly lifted the child up, cradling them to her.

"Then we'll be alright." Selenia let a smile slip onto her lips.

"me and everyone else will be there to back you guys up too." Sans lightly touched the older human's hand, her fingers happily grasping his as she beamed at him.

"Oh, so this is the Sans I've heard so much about?" A sly look crossed over the goat woman's eyes. "It is nice to finally meet you face to face." She held out the hand she wasn't using to hold Frisk up out to him.

"nice to meet you too." The skeleton slid his unoccupied hand into hers, and as they shook a whoopee cushion let out its signature peel. All four of them were laughing and as soon as they calmed, the older human swatted at his shoulder.

"Sans have you no shame?" She was grinning at him through her words. "Even using that on the former queen?"

"it never gets old." He shrugged, but was beaming. They then carried on to introduce Toriel to the others she had stunned in her arrival. Undyne and Alphys kept their distance from her, due to their friendship with Asgore, but eventually warmed up to the motherly goat woman. Papyrus seemed to take to her as well, except for when she told him a pun about skeletons, in which he was distraught. Mettaton was thrilled to meet her as well, but was once again standing too close for comfort for Selenia.

As the robot went to snake his arm about her shoulders again, the human back handed it away, a stern glare decorating her face. "Could you not touch me?" Her voice was harsh toward him.

"Whatever is the matter, darling?" The star was put off his game at the way she reacted, but tried to keep his cool.

"After what you did, I'm not happy with you." She didn't go into detail as to not make Toriel angry with him as well. "I have not forgiven you for it and with you being buddy, pal, flirty with me is not going to swing!" Everyone had gone silent at her outburst, but Sans was smirking as he looked on.

"Darling, a beautiful face like yours shouldn't hold such a scathing look." The robot pouted.

"Oh a beautiful face huh?" A spiteful grin marred her lips. "Is this beautiful?" Her fingers raked away the hair from the left side of her face, exposing them all to her scarred flesh and missing eye.

The few standing there that didn't know about her face stared on in shock, some gasping at the revelation. The older human winked the damaged eyelid as best she could at the star, who looked horrified. "Isn't my face just the most beautiful sight you've ever seen?" Her words were filled with venom.

"D-darling…" Mettaton was speechless from the glare she shot his way.

"Go ahead, tell me I'm pretty. Tell me how sorry you are that this is what I have to live with. Pity me if you dare. It won't make a difference. I don't care for you." Selenia released the hair, letting it fall back over the scarred flesh.

"Hey punk." Undyne wore a solemn look, before breaking out into excitement. "That's so cool! You've got to tell me the story of how you got that!" The human was stunned into silence.

"Not all humans are as nice as Lenna and I." Frisk was by their sibling's side, sadness and concern on their face.

"Another human did this to you, my child?" Toriel seemed filled with more worry, and just a little bit of outrage.

"Most humans aren't nice creatures." Selenia sighed, turning away from them. "They tend to like hurting one another, physically, mentally, it doesn't matter. They kill their own, ridicule people for being different and make fun out of serious matters. Just remember that if we ever do get to the surface; you guys are bound to be drawn into that stuff as well." She then wandered back into the kitchen to finish cleaning up the dishes. The group watched her go before returning to what they were previously doing.

Frisk gently tugged on Sans' jacket, earning the skeleton's attention. They motioned for him to follow them to a different room, having to tell him something important. The child made sure the door locked after they entered one of the examination rooms before turning to the skeleton.

"what's up, kid?"

"I remember why Lenna has never been in any of the other timelines." Their gaze was distant.

"Do tell." Sans sobered as he took a seat in a nearby chair.

"This timeline is different… be glad you're sitting down." A sigh escaped them. "This is the first timeline she's been in and _lived_."

"what… do you mean?" His eye sockets were wide.

"In some of the timelines she dies in the same attack that killed her mother. In others, where she did end up babysitting me and a few other kids she would be extremely depressed… when I'd go to find her she would have…" They choked on the words, but the skeleton knew what they were aiming for. "That's why I was so surprised when I saw it was her Sans, because she's _alive_." They had large tears trickling down their cheeks. "The last time I saw her she was in that extremely depressed state… but since she's been down here with all of you she's changed. She's so happy… so please, take good care of her?"

"wait, what-" Sans sighed, the child had already left the room. This revelation was also a lot for him to think about. What did all of this mean? How was her presence going to affect the outcome of this timeline? He pushed the thoughts to the back of his mind as he stood and wandered out of the room.

Selenia sighed as she finished off the dishes; her previously good mood had been shattered and cleaning helped to work out her foul mood. She crossed her arms against the counter and rested her head on them. Her mind was telling her how badly she had over reacted about the whole situation before hand. She felt mentally spent. A familiar hand rested on her back and rubbed at her spine soothingly.

"you okay, kid?" Sans was cautious with his touch. He was also leaned against the counter in the same position.

"I will be. Sorry you had to witness that outburst of mine." She craned her neck to look at him, her face drawn.

"don't worry about it; that rust bucket needed to be put in his place." He smirked, but let it fall into a gentle smile. "If it counts for anything, you look pretty to me." His cheek bones flushed at the way she stared at him.

"You really think so?" Her own cheeks were heated.

"well, yeah… you're kind, honest, maybe a bit broken, but you're here and you're you. Guess that's why I like you so much, kid."

"Oh… um…" Her blush deepened as a thought came to her mind. "I like you a lot too, Sans." Feeling emboldened, the human shifted her position, leaning forward and placing her lips to his brow bone in a chaste kiss. "And thank you again." She then pulled away from him and wandered off to join the others in whatever they were doing.

A/N~ Hello lovelies! It's been a week again and this is chapter 10! I'm about half beating my head into the desk at this point, trying to move the story along and stay away from filler as much as possible but I just really, really, really, really like writing all this fluffiness between Sans and Lenna . Anyway, don't hesitate to leave feedback! I really do enjoy hearing from you guys =D If you have any questions don't hesitate to ask! And have a fantabulous day!


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter 11

"So how do we get an audience with the king?" Selenia asked once everyone was seated at the folding table. She and Toriel had prepared dinner, with ample help from Frisk, Papyrus and Undyne.

"Just go in and talk to him." Said fish woman shrugged. "He's normally just watering flowers in the throne room or sipping tea in there. Will probably ask if you want a cup of the stuff as well."

"He hasn't changed much." Toriel muttered.

"Mom, we're going to be civil." The older human chided.

"Of course we will be… but we are not in his presence right now." The goat woman grinned slyly. "And by the way, Selenia… have you told that boy how you feel yet?"

"Mom!" Said human's cheeks blossomed with heat, the others were laughing along as well.

"c'mon kid, can't be that hard to tell someone you like them." Sans would be grinning from ear to ear, if he had ears.

"Then why don't you tell us who you like?" Mettaton smirked at the skeleton from across the table. "If it's not too hard for you that is." They glared at one another as the challenge was accepted.

"that's easy. I like everyone." Sans shrugged, his grin not wavering.

"No, no, no, the one you like the most. As in romantically." The robot wasn't going to let him off the hook so easily.

"still easy." The skeleton lifted his plate, revealing a slice of Toriel's specialty of butterscotch-cinnamon pie. "this is what I'm really in love with right now." There were chuckles around the table as the star pouted.

"Alright, enough playing around." Selenia's voice was filled with mirth. "I want to know as much as I can about the king before we meet him."

"A lot of us refer to him as King Fluffybuns." Undyne was smirking at the nickname.

"I actually gave him that nickname a long time ago…" Toriel's cheeks were pink with embarrassment. "I am surprised that it seems to have stuck."

"I-it's pretty accurate, Ms. Toriel, s-since he's so n-nice." Alphys supplied.

"He seems like he's not that bad of a guy, Lenna." Frisk reasoned as they looked up at their sister.

"He doesn't that's for sure… Should we address him as 'your highness' or what?" The older human bit her lip.

"He'd be fine with anything; there's no reason for you to be so nervous, punk."

"WE WILL ALL BE THERE TO SUPPORT YOU!" Papyrus had been unusually quiet, probably due to all of the new food choices in front of him that he would eventually try to work spaghetti into."

"It's kind of a big deal though… since we'll be meeting with royalty, but it's probably different from meeting the royals above ground." Selenia shrugged. "I'm trusting you guys on this though." She still had her doubts and decided to be wary of the king just in case. The rest of the dinner continued as usual; puns being tossed back and forth between Toriel and Sans, Papyrus groaning at all of them, Undyne and Alphys staring lovingly at one another and of course Mettaton boasting about some new show or movie he was going to do.

After everyone was finished, Papyrus latched onto Selenia, dragging her away from everyone else so he could speak with her. He pulled her into an examination room and sighed, looking at the confusion on her face. "HUMAN, YOUR MOTHER KEEPS TEASING YOU ABOUT HAVING A CRUSH ON MY BROTHER, CORRECT?" His voice was soft, but there was still volume to it. It was if he didn't wish to have this conversation in the first place with how nervous he seemed.

"Yes she does… Paps what's on your mind?" The human bit her lip, concern starting to portray itself on her face.

"I DO NOT WISH TO SEE YOU HURT… BUT I HAD ASKED SANS HOW HE FELT TOWARD YOU… WHICH HE TOLD ME HE ONLY THOUGHT OF YOU IN A PLATONIC WAY…" He had averted his gaze from her, but at her deep intake of air he turned back to her.

"Well… that… huh… glad someone told me at least." A sad smile adorned her lips. "Now I can stop making a fool of myself around him…"

"HE DOES CARE ABOUT YOU A LOT IF THAT MAKES YOU FEEL ANY BETTER…" The tall skeleton reached out to her, and she welcomed the touch as he drew her into a brotherly embrace. "I DO HATE BEING THE BARER OF BAD NEWS, BUT I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS, AM HERE IF YOU NEED SOMEONE TO TALK TO, HUMAN." He gently patted her head.

"Still, thanks for letting me know." She backed out of the hug. He left shortly after, making sure she was okay. She sunk down into one of the nearby chairs, frustrated with herself. "See now look at what you've done. You've fallen for him and he only thinks of you as a friend. Hell, probably more like that annoying little sister he needs to protect and nurture." She spat at herself.

"Once again, Selenia, you're nothing but a fucking idiot who's going to end up getting heartbroken again when you see him with someone else. Oh but he said he really liked you earlier, just letting you down easy without really saying anything." She swiped at her eye, feeling the angry tears starting to build up. "Damn it you're not going through this again! You're just going to treat him as a friend. Distance yourself from the random touches… No more using him as a pillow. No more flirtatious teasing and above all else…" She shook her head, remembering the small kiss she had planted on his brow as the tears finally spilled over. "Damn it all!"

She spent a few minutes trying to pull herself back together before going out to face everyone and see when they were leaving. Taking a few steadying, deep breaths to calm her nerves, the human opened the door to see none other than the short skeleton there. His fist was raised as if he were about to knock.

"oh, there you are, kid. We were starting to wonder where you disappeared off to." Sans smiled at her, the smile faltering slightly as he caught sight of her puffy, red eye and splotchy face. "you okay there, pal?"

"Yep, just peachy!" Her voice was strained, and cracked slightly, his 'pal' comment hurting more than it should have.

"if you're sure…" He shook his skull as if trying to clear his head. "all of us are ready to set out whenever you are." He reached out for her hand, which she jerked away as she skirted past him.

"Sounds good. Let's get the out of here then." She was curt, and did not notice the hurt look play across his features as she moved off to join the others. "Are we all set to leave?" Her question wasn't directed at anyone in particular as they were all standing near the door.

"We're going to head to my resort, darling." A glare was sent Mettaton's way. He cleared his throat before he continued. "There is an elevator there that will take us straight to the capital."

"Alrighty, let's go then." Selenia led the charge out the door before letting one of the others take the lead. She watched as Frisk delightfully wove between the group members to chat, seemingly unaffected by the sweltering heat. Toriel also seemed welcoming to it, which the older human found strange. Maybe the goat woman was used to it because she used fire magic?

Sans was keeping an eye socket out for everyone in their group, even reluctantly doing so for Mettaton, but his main focus was the human woman. Why was she acting so strangely? Maybe she was just anxious and her nerves were getting the better of her? He strolled to her side and carefully touched her arm, making her jump away from him slightly. "woah, hey it's just me. No need to jump out of your skin."

"Oh, hi Sans." Selenia tried to smile, it being slightly forced.

"what's up, pal?" He saw her wince at the word. "you're acting like someone kicked your puppy."

"Ah, nothing really, just nervous." She lied through her teeth. "It's not every day some common riff raff like me gets to meet a king."

"uh huh… what's really bothering you, kid?" She sighed, knowing he saw right through her.

"I found out something earlier that made me upset, okay?" She interrupted him as he was going to ask a question. "No I don't want to talk about it, and yes it was painful to find out."

"sorry you had to find whatever it is out then." He turned his gaze from her, hating the defeated look on her face. "stay determined though; it may not be as bad as you think."

As the group continued onwards, the older human remained quiet, lost in her own thoughts. The skeleton was still by her side and it felt like tiny needles were pricking at her heart every time her eye wandered over to him. Her mind kept replaying the same words over and over to her.

'Stupid.'

'Only likes you like a sister.'

'Only friends, nothing more.'

'Isn't it devastating?'

'No one can love you.'

'You're nothing.'

Frisk turned to look back at the rest of the group, since they and Mettaton were leading it onwards. Besides Undyne looking extremely uncomfortable in the heat, everyone seemed to be doing fine. That was until the child's eyes landed on their sister. She looked like she had lost her best friend, and the way her hands were clenching and unclenching made them worry. An idea popped into their head as they rushed back to her, making the older woman jump in surprise as they took her hand.

"Hey squirt, what's up?" Even her voice was different, making the kid worry even more.

"Can we sing one of the songs from that movie we used to watch together all the time?" They thought for a moment. "It had a French sounding name and had all these dancers, and where the play writer falls in love with the main dancer girl." They seemed excited about it.

"Well, I guess so…" She chuckled at their wording of the movie, which she remembered being the Moulin Rouge. "Which song though?"

"The show must go on!" They grinned.

"Alrighty. Do you remember any of the words?"

"Yeah! You take the parts that the lady sings!" Frisk cleared their throat as their soft voice started in on the song;

"Another hero, another mindless crime, behind the curtain, in the pantomime. On and on, does anybody know what we are living for?" They circled around their sister, like they were the only two there. "Whatever happens, we leave it all to chance, another heartache, another failed romance. On and on, does anybody know what we are living for?

"The show must go on!" The child belted out, carrying on the last word. "The show must go on! Outside the dawn is breaking, on the stage that holds our final destiny! The show must go on! The show must go on!"

"Inside my heart is breaking…" Selenia's voice started out as a mere whisper, before growing. "My make-up may be flaking, but my smile still stays on…"

"The show must go on!" Frisk picked back up. "The show must go on!"

"I'll top the bill! I'll earn the kill! I have to find the will to carry-" The older human grinned at her sibling, taking both of their hands as they continued the song together.

"On with the, on with the, on with the show!"

"On with the show!" The child shouted. "On with the show!"

"The show must go on!" They finished together, drawing out the last word. Hands still clasped, they spun in a circle around each other. Selenia pulled the child to her before collapsing onto her back in a fit of happy giggles.

Sans had been watching the two the entire time, as had everyone else, and had been surprised with how much soul the older human had put into her words. How much those words actually seemed to mean to her. What had she learned that had put her into that dreary mood to begin with? He took the chance to glance at his brother, noticing the taller skeleton was teary socketed. He may have just found the catalyst that caused the change in her. He would have to ask Papyrus later.

"Oh my! Your voices are absolutely lovely together darlings!" Mettaton was once again fawning over them, but stopped at the glare he received from the woman.

"Thanks, Ton-Ton!" Frisk grinned as they leaped from their sister to cling to the star, who had tears in his eyes at the nickname.

"And thank you for cheering me up, squirt." Selenia pulled herself to her feet and ruffled the child's hair before they and the robot went back to lead the group. She walked up beside Toriel, taking the goat woman's furry hand in her own and receiving a motherly smile.

"Hello, my child."

"Hi, mom." The human's voice was a bit sad, but her smile was genuine.

"What has been troubling you, dear one?" It seems like Toriel could see right through her as well.

"Right down to the point, huh?" Selenia's smile faltered. "Well… when Papyrus took me to the side earlier, he told me his brother only thinks of me in a platonic way." She whispered.

"That is obviously not true." The goat woman's words were sure, a stern look on her face.

"Paps would never lie to me though." The human stared up at the taller monster. "How can you tell anyway?"

"The way he looks at you and the way his soul pulses when you're near him or laughing at one of his jokes." The former queen stated matter-of-factly.

"Oh, right, you have the ability to see souls." The woman rubbed the back of her neck in embarrassment. "You can really see that much from just looking at a soul though?"

"Yes, because the soul is who you really are; every thought, every feeling, every memory is in your soul." Toriel explained. "What your mind doesn't remember, your soul does."

"Souls are weird." The human chuckled as she rested her unoccupied hand over the part of her chest she knew the soul resided.

"Your soul has so much love in it, my child." The goat woman smiled happily. "It is strange though…" She squinted, looking closer at the human's soul.

"Is there something wrong with it?" Worry surged through the human as she stared between her chest and her mom.

"Nothing wrong at all, dear one… I can just see the connectors between your soul and everyone else's" Toriel smiled reassuringly, watching the tendrils that pulsed from her soul to the others; each were a vast array of colors, linking up with the human's twisted strands of green and purple. Her own soul's tendril was lovingly wrapped around the human's in a protective, motherly embrace at the meeting point.

"What does it look like?" Selenia questioned.

"It's truly a beautiful sight to behold… How I wish you could see it for yourself."

"Is there anything I can compare it to?" She moved some stray hair out of her face.

"Just imagine two rays of light connecting, different colored lights undulating against one another." The former queen thought for a moment. "It is rather hard to explain…"

"I can see it somewhat." The human had her eye closed, her mind creating the image for her. "It's like seeing the Northern Lights…" The two continued to talk more about souls and many other different subjects.

Meanwhile, Sans strolled up beside his brother, giving the taller skeleton a fond smile. "hey, bro."

"OH, HELLO SANS!" Papyrus had been cheerfully humming to himself.

"I have a question for you, pap." The older brother's grin changed slightly.

"WHAT IS IT, BROTHER?"

"what did you pull the human away to talk about earlier?" His voice dropped an octave. "she's been acting differently since then."

"W-well since her mother keeps teasing her about her feelings for you…" The taller brother's voice lowered as well. "I found it only appropriate to tell her that you only think of her in a platonic way."

"you did… oh…" Sans shook his skull. "you know feelings can change in time, and it's been a while since you asked me that."

"So you feel differently now….?" Papyrus frowned. "I apologize brother… if I had known…"

"don't worry, I'm not mad at you. I'll fix this." The older brother smiled at his sibling.

The group finally made it to the resort, Selenia looking dejectedly at the fountain in the entrance hall. The box shaped Mettaton statue was shooting water out onto the floor, making a mess everywhere with no 'caution! Wet floor!' sign in sight. There were also a few monsters milling about before going into awe about the robot himself showing up. The star signed a few autographs and chatted with them for a little while before leading the group to the elevator.

"This is it, the elevator that can take us to the capital." The star stated. "But it will have to make two trips, as it can only hold so many people at a time."

"I can hang back, no worries." Selenia smiled slightly.

"I'll stay back as well." Sans offered. The rest of the group split off to use the elevator, leaving the two to stand and wait for its return. "so… heard you weren't in the best of moods, kid." The skeleton started.

"Guess you can say that." The human had her hands clasped in front of her, thumbs twirling around one another. Her eye was trained on them, avoiding his gaze.

"you shouldn't believe everything someone tells you, pal." He watched as she flinched at his words.

"I don't know what you're talking about." She mumbled, still not meeting his gaze.

"it was a while back since he asked me that question, you know." He looked unusually serious. "I told him that because I didn't want to get attached to someone that could easily slip from my grasp, you know?"

"Sans, is this the right time to talk about this?" She was nervous, and trying to avoid the subject.

"now is a good time. We're alone for a bit so no one can interrupt us." He stared her down, eye lights somewhat pleading. "why are you trying to avoid the subject, kiddo?"

"Because…" The elevator dinged open, interrupting her. The duo boarded it, the human seemingly unsteady as she remembered her last experience in an elevator.

"you were saying?" Sans reminded as he pressed the up button. She didn't answer him. "do you really think it's the truth?"

"There's nothing there to support the facts that it's not the truth." Selenia replied quickly.

"you're acting so strangely about it as well…"

"I'm trying to avoid it because I don't want to be hurt again!" She blurted out before leaning against the elevator wall. "I don't want that terrible heartbroken feeling to swallow me up, so I've been trying to distance myself from you. But… it still hurts so much… knowing you like someone but they don't reciprocate the feelings…" She took in a shaky breath.

"kid…"

"And the way my mind works is just making it so much worse! It's like needles are sticking themselves into my heart at every thought it comes up with! Telling me things like 'he can do so much better,' 'no one can care about you like that,' blah, blah, blah!" She choked on the words. "It's fucked up and I hate it, I already know all of this! I can't help the way I feel and it sucks!"

"Selenia." The way he said her name made her look up, seeing he was standing a few mere inches from her. He gently reached out, gripping her chin with one hand while the other brushed away the hair she used to hide her face. He studied her face for a few moments, noticing how watery her eye was. His mind made up, he crashed his teeth into her lips. A low whine resonated from the human at the suddenness of the action, her eye wide.

Selenia's eye slowly fluttered shut as she returned the 'kiss', her hands coming up to rest on his shoulders. He broke away from her a moment later, letting his brow rest against hers with a gentle grin and light blue blush on his features. She was panting slightly, cheeks a flame as she opened her eye to stare into his eye sockets. "so… does that define how I feel about you better than words?" She nodded mutely. "good, 'cause as I told you earlier, I really do like you."

"Sorry I doubted you." A small smile played on her lips as she brought a hand up to gently caress his cheek bone, the smooth bone feeling nice under her fingertips.

"no worries, kid, just glad that's settled now." He leaned into her touch before pulling away from her as the elevator dinged, signaling they had reached their stop. "now come on, we've got a king to talk to." He took her hand, entwining his phalanges with her fingers.

"That we do." She smiled as he led her from the elevator. Toriel looked them over as they stepped out, a knowing smile lighting her face and eyes. Frisk and Papyrus both seemed to notice as well, each giving their respective siblings a thumbs up. The group then continued on their way to the castle, the human and skeleton's hands locked together the entire time.

A/N~ Hello lovelies! =D Finally chapter 11 complete! I was kind of drawn into listening to the Moulin Rouge soundtrack while working on this one so was like "why not, let's have Lenna and Frisk duet this shit." And then the end and the bljdkafhieorkhnelo holy crap XD Anyway I also have a poll up on my profile, because I want you guys' help with a decision I'm having a problem with what I should do! So go check it out =D And have a wonderful day!


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter 12

Selenia stared in awe as they all entered into the castle. A long hall, seemingly coated in gold, stretched out before the group; stained glass windows letting light in from the outside cavern and making the gold sparkle. It was a beautiful sight to behold after walking along the upper path and looking out at the gray city that was 'New Home.'

"Beautiful, isn't it?" Toriel sighed, getting lost in memories.

"We call this place the Judgement Hall." Undyne was also gazing around. "Way back when, this place was used to judge others good or bad intentions before meeting with the royalty. Now it's just for decoration."

"Shouldn't we be judged then?" Frisk had fallen back, deciding to take their sister's unoccupied hand; the other was still twined with the skeleton's.

"Think we should, squirt?" The older human had a gentle smile adorning her lips.

"We'll have to draw your souls out to evaluate them… Are you alright with this?" Undyne's magic had formed a teal spear in her hand as she stared the two humans down.

"We're ready." The two nodded as Sans finally slipped his hand away, siding with the monsters as they all turned to face the humans. They both stood there with unwavering determination lighting their faces.

Their souls were pulled from their chests as the fish woman swung her spear in an arc toward them. The child's was a brilliant red, filled to the brim with fiery passions and limitless determination, while the adult's was two tones divided by a large black crack; The green side pulsed with kindness and hope, while the purple side shone with her will to carry on, even in the worst of times. The humans stared at the hearts in front of them, a distant look in their eyes.

"Today you will be judged." Toriel started, her eyes lighting up as she raked her gaze over the souls. "You will be judged for your every action; for every Execution Point you've earned, and your Level of Violence…"

"neither of you have gained any LOVE." Sans had a large grin on his features. "no matter the struggles or hardships you two faced, you strived to do the right thing. You refused to hurt anyone."

"THE TWO OF YOU NEVER GAINED LOVE… BUT YOU GAINED THE LOVE OF EVERYONE YOU CAME IN CONTACT WITH!" Papyrus was also grinning at the two, happy for them.

"You b-both have done right by all of u-us here." Alphys had a shy smile on her face.

"We allow you passage to see the king." Undyne finished, tapping the butt of her spear on the ground a few times before letting it fade. The souls eased back into their hosts, both humans smiling in their own ways at their friends as the light returned to their eyes.

A long, low clapping came from the archway at the end of the hall, making everyone turn in that direction. "That was the best judgement that I have seen in a very, very long time." A deep, kind, masculine voice boomed from the shadows. The largest monster Selenia had ever seen came into the light.

He was at least a foot taller than Toriel, with long, curving horns sprouting from his head. A mane of gold covered his head and wrapped around his face in a beard. He wore what looked like golden armor, with a royal violet cloak around his shoulders. A small crown rested on his head between the horns and it made it obvious that the monster before them was the king.

"Hey there, Asgore." Undyne greeted him very informally, like a friend.

"Hello Undyne and welcome all of you." His dark gaze roamed over everyone in front of him, lingering on the humans before it snapped to Toriel. "T-tori?"

"Do not 'Tori' me, Dreemurr!" The goat woman snapped.

"Mom!" Selenia chided as she and Frisk came to Toriel's side. "We're being civil, remember?" The mother reluctantly nodded. "Sorry about that, your highness." She and the child bowed to the king. "My name is Selenia, and this is my sibling, Frisk. We wanted to have a small audience with you, if that is alright, sir."

"That is fine, and please, just call me Asgore." His voice was a deep, rumbling chuckle at the formalities. "Perhaps we should save that meeting for tomorrow though, since it is quite late and you are all probably tired from your journey."

"That sounds…" Frisk covered their mouth as a yawn escaped them. "Good." Toriel lifted the tired child into her arms, cradling them close to her.

"Follow me. I shall lead you to the guest rooms." The king took the lead, and the group followed him out of the Judgement Hall and into another wing of the castle. He let them have their choice of rooms; the skeleton brothers would be sharing a room, the same went for Alphys and Undyne as well as Toriel and Frisk, while Selenia and Mettaton had their own rooms.

A few hours passed and Selenia had yet to find sleep. She had tossed and turned until she couldn't take it anymore and slipped out of the comfortable bed. She gazed around the dark room before heading to the door and sliding into the dimly lit hall. The human tiptoed out of the hall, not really knowing where she was going but thinking that a walk would help her ease into sleep eventually. She continued her walk until she came to what she supposed was a mix between the throne room and a garden, and was in awe at the sight of it.

The room was lit with glowing gold orbs of light, probably fueled by magic, and the floor was lined with green foliage and the same kind of golden flowers that had softened her fall at the beginning of her journey. A large, high backed, gold carved throne, upholstered with the same royal violet the king's cloak had been, rested in the center of the flowers.

Selenia carefully moved through the garden toward the throne, loving the feel of moist soil between her toes. A small, sad chuckle parted her lips as she laid a gentle hand onto the throne's arm. "I never thought I'd be here…"

"Life is surprising, is it not?" The king's voice rumbled from the shadows of the room, making the human turn nervously in his direction.

"Ah, your highness, I'm sorry to intrude!" She mumbled out quickly, her head bowed.

"Do not worry, child, you are not intruding. And please just call me Asgore." He smiled, but it was tinged with sadness. "Could you not sleep?"

"It seemed to be evading me, yes." She raised her head, finally meeting his dark gaze. "I assume it's the same for you?"

"It is indeed elusive, but I am used to staying up most nights, contemplating." He turned from her to stare out of the window beside him. His eyes scanned over the structures of the city below.

"Gold for your thoughts?" She moved to awkwardly stand at his side, small smile on her lips.

"You would lend an ear to a stubborn old goat such as myself?" Asgore chuckled, a quirk to his lips, but his gaze remaining distant.

"If you're willing to tell me of course." Selenia smiled up at him.

"You and your sibling are the first humans that actually want to sit and talk, you know… At least for a while…" That sad look donned his face again.

"Most of them just wanted to get back home, didn't they?" She kept a careful eye on him.

"That is correct…" He sighed. "I regret what I had to do… taking their souls… At first it eased the loss I felt after my two children passed on… but it got harder…"

"You and m… Toriel had kids?" She scolded herself for almost calling the goat woman 'mom' in front of him.

"Yes… only one was biologically ours, the other was a human we took in… the first human that fell down here after the barrier was erected." He explained. "The child became very ill and passed away, and not too long after… our son also passed…"

"I'm sorry for your losses… I can understand it though, the sorrow, the anger… it never really fades away." She rubbed at her eye before staring out of the window.

"You've also lost someone important to you?" He seemed surprised, glancing at her.

"A few years ago I lost my mother." She confirmed. "I'm guessing it nearly broke me and… it's why my soul looks the way it does."

"It is indeed hard to lose loved ones." Asgore turned, staring at the human closely. "Ah, you are the one with the dual soul…"

"That's me." She chuckled, trying to break the sad atmosphere. "You wouldn't happen to know of any others with a soul like mine, would you?"

"The only other I knew with a dual soul was one my father, the former king, was close with. She was also a monarch among the humans." He explained, staring down at her with amusement. "She was apparently very brash but strove for justice. After her husband and only son were killed in battle she changed, learning to be more patient and plan things out before acting."

"What was her name?" The human was smiling slightly.

"I believe it was either Eleana or Eliane." The woman laughed, making him raise a brow in question.

"Sorry, sorry…" She wiped a nonexistent tear from her eye. "It's just that both of those names have something to do with the sun, while mine is drawn from the moon. I found it coincidentally silly."

"The chance that happened are kind of silly, I agree." The king rumbled a laugh of his own.

"You know…" The human spoke up after a minute of silence. "I was angry at you for a while… after finding out about the whole needing souls thing and having to kill humans to claim those souls…" She shook her head. "And then I was afraid… for both my sibling and I… but mostly them. If I hadn't befriended everyone that came here with me, I would have freely given up my soul so all of you could be free."

A gentle, large hand rested on her head. "Child, I understand. Yet why have you decided to come here now?"

"We wanted to see if maybe we could help find another way to break the barrier without one of us having to give up one of our souls to do so." Selenia smiled up at him. "We want to solve all of this peacefully."

"You both are something different." Asgore returned her smile with his own.

"Can I ask you something, sir?" A thought came to the human, her face turning serious.

"By all means, go ahead."

"Would you possibly be able to play a fatherly figure for Frisk?" She watched his expression closely. "I only ask because they're still so young… and they lost their parents…"

"I can indeed do that… but would you also like that father figure as well?" He gave her a soft look.

"I… um…" She looked away from him. "I've, well, never really had a real father figure in my life. I don't know how I'd feel about having one now…"

"Take all the time you need to decide, child." He rubbed her head soothingly.

"Thanks." A yawn escaped her.

"Go get some rest now; a long day awaits us tomorrow." The king smiled as he withdrew his hand from her.

"Have a good night, sir. And thank you again." The human returned his smile before heading off back to her room. She wandered the halls sluggishly, but turned quickly as she caught sight of something moving out of her peripherals. Something gold in color disappeared just as quickly as she saw it. She felt a chill crawl up her spine before playing it of as her tired mind hallucinating.

Selenia quickly hurried off to her room, the feeling of being watched making her paranoid. The hairs on the back of her neck rose up as she reached out for the door knob. She quickly glanced around, spotting nothing lurking in the shadows and slipped into her room, locking the door. A breath she didn't realize she was holding finally escaped her as she took inventory of the dark room, glad to find nothing out of place.

The human threw herself onto the bed and grabbed one of the pillows to hold tightly to her chest. She still felt like there were eyes on her and glanced around one more time. Despising the feeling, she pulled the covers over her head, a small shiver shaking her form. Her eyes slowly closed as she reluctantly relaxed into sleep.

A scream tore down the length of the hall, alerting all of the monsters and the human child to it, most being awake already. "Selenia?" Toriel was the first to call out.

"Lenna!" The screaming continued as Frisk took off down the hall toward their sister's room.

"HUMAN?!" Papyrus then ran after the child, concerned for his friend. The rest of the monsters followed in their wake. The young human was pounding on their sibling's door and trying to pull the door open. Asgore arrived on the scene as well.

"What is going on?" The king had his eyes fixed on the door, worry on his face.

"Please! Open the door!" Frisk was close to tears as they turned to look at the king, tiny body shaking. "Please help my sister!"

"Move away from the door, young one." The child did as they were told before the king rammed his shoulder into the door, splintering the wood and breaking the lock. He stumbled into the room, the small human rushing in behind him and to their sister's side.

"Lenna!" The older human was thrashing about, eye squeezed shut as more soul shattering screams pulled themselves from her throat. "Wake up!"

"hey kid, c'mon." Sans was automatically on the other side of the woman's bed, trying to help ease her into the waking world. He took her hand gently in his, but she only swatted it away in her thrashing.

"My child, please awaken…" Toriel tried, to no effect.

"Allow me to try something?" Asgore moved to the goat woman's side, the latter glaring.

"Please, anything to help her!" Frisk was actually crying now, their voice cracking. The large monster lifted the screaming girl into his arms, gently cradling her to his chest and humming soothing words. He rocked her slightly, her hand coming to clutch as his armor like a life line. Her body jerked and her eye flew open as she panted. Tears were gathered in her eye before her gaze turned to the king.

"That must have been some nightmare…" He smiled at her in a gentle, calming way.

"I-I…" Selenia turned her head as she started to sob; the king rubbed her back gently and started mumbling soothing words to her. As she calmed, she whispered, "Thanks dad…"

"You are most welcome, child." Asgore smiled at the human, before sitting her back on the bed. He felt a swell of happiness at her words.

"And sorry for startling every one of you like that…" The older human was tackled into a hug from her sibling, who was shivering.

"We were so worried about you, Lenna!" Frisk cried into her.

"what was your nightmare about?" Sans plopped down beside the humans, noting the older froze at his question.

"I…" She was shaking now. "I watched all of you die… and t-there was nothing I could do about it!" She stuttered out. "And the killer… I couldn't see them but they were laughing the entire time…"

"We are all still here, my child, so there is no need to fret." Toriel smiled at the girl. "Now, we shall leave you to freshen up."

"Can at least one of you stay with me?" Selenia rushed out, fearful of being left alone with her thoughts. Both skeletons volunteered to keep her company and everyone else left the room to get on with their day. "Thanks for staying with me, guys." Her voice was quiet.

"IT IS NO PROBLEM, HUMAN!" Papyrus was looking about the room, as if searching for something.

"don't sweat it kid… but I have to ask, why did you call the king dad?" Sans' curiosity was piqued.

"Ah, that… I couldn't fall asleep last night and decided to walk around, which lead to me running into him. We talked for a bit then I asked him if he could be a father figure for Frisk." Selenia explained. "He told me he'd be my father figure as well, but I told him I'd have to think about it." She shrugged. "When he was there to calm me from the nightmare it just slipped out."

"sounds like an exciting night." The older brother flopped back first onto the bed, making the sitting woman bounce slightly.

"AH HA!" The taller skeleton found what he was looking for after going through a drawer. He held up a hair brush and a few clips.

"Paps… what are you going to do with those?" The human blanched, knowing what was coming before he even said anything.

"I AM GOING TO FIX YOUR HAIR, HUMAN!" He seemed ecstatic about the thought of playing with her dark tresses. "AS WELL AS BEING A MASTER SPAGHETTATORE, I SHALL ALSO BE A MASTER AT DOING HAIR!" Many nyeh-heh-heh's followed as he came at her.

"Help…" The human struggled as the skeleton tackled her down, trying to wrestle her way away from him. "Sans help!" She whined.

"no can do, kiddo." The older brother was getting a kick out of the situation.

"STOP YOUR STRUGGLING! I KNOW EXACTLY WHAT I AM DOING AND THIS WILL GREATLY IMPROVE YOUR MOOD!" Papyrus had the human pinned under him, her belly to the floor as he pulled the brush through her hair.

"Please no, my hair is fine…" She continued to whine, but was secretly having her spirits lifted from the attention. He was extremely gentle with the many knots in her locks as well, carefully picking them apart before continuing to brush through it. "How did you learn to do this?"

"I READ A BOOK!" He beamed. "I FOUND IT IN THE DUMP IN WATERFALL AND THOUGHT IT MIGHT COME IN HANDY ONE DAY!"

"You're doing a good job… I'm not really fond of others touching my hair so consider yourself lucky." She huffed, but smiled back at him.

Sans grinned to himself as he watched the two of them; he could tell the human was uncomfortable, but put up with his brother's antics because she didn't want to see him sad. He enjoyed watching the two interact as well, almost like they were siblings themselves, with Papyrus being the quirky little brother while Selenia was the collected, maternal sister. It brought more joy to him than he thought it would.

"AND NYEH! THERE WE GO, FINISHED!" The tall skeleton finally moved off of her and helped her back to her feet after placing the final clip in her hair.

"What did you do?" The human questioned anxiously before catching sight of herself in a wall mirror. He had let the bangs covering her missing eye as they were; the rest of her hair was pulled into two long pigtails, held in place by the butterfly shaped clips he had used. "I haven't had my hair like this in years…" She smiled at him. "It looks fantastic, thanks Paps."

"ALL IN A DAYS WORK FOR THE GREAT PAPYRUS!" He then retreated out of the room to go and find the others.

"He is still too precious for this world." Selenia sighed as she sat back down on the bed.

"that's pap for you." Sans shrugged, his eye lights on the ceiling. "you… uh… look good with your hair up by the way." Cyan dusted his cheek bones.

"You really think so?" The human lay back beside him to get a better look at his face.

"I mean you looked good before as well, but you… ah…" His blush darkened, making her giggle. He kept his eye lights focused on the ceiling to avoid further embarrassment.

"Sans." She gently rested a hand on his mandible, turning his skull toward her. "I understand." She smiled as she pulled him closer, placing a soft kiss on his brow bone. His arms almost instantly wrapped around her, pulling her against him and snuggling his skull into the crook of her neck. She chuckled, hand rubbing the top of his skull.

"you're still you, hair up or down." He murmured, his phalanges tickling the exposed flesh at the back of her neck.

"Of course." Selenia giggled at his touch. "That tickles you know."

"hmm? Really?" The skeleton grinned devilishly, hands moving to her sides to tickle her more thoroughly.

"Sans no!" She laughed, trying to curl in on herself to stop him.

"sans yes." He laughed with her. He soon stopped to let her catch her breath. "c'mon kid, let's-" Multiple screams rang out, alerting the two that something was not right.

"Let's go!" Selenia pulled him up with her, both running from the room. They made a mad dash down the hall toward where the sounds of a struggle were coming from. As they set foot into the throne room large, thorn ridden vines wrapped around the two immobilizing and shocking them into submission.

"Sans! Lenna!" The only one not constricted by the vines was frisk, who was standing in the middle of the room. A golden flower with a face was laughing beside the small human.

"Oh so smiley trash bag and cyclops number two are here now! Now that everyone is here together… let's get this over with!" The flower laughed, pulling the child's soul out for all to see then surrounding it with many white seeds.

"You!" The older human ground out, blood seeping out of the wounds the thorns had made. Everyone in the room used what power they had left to protect the young one, angering Flowey as more and more monsters showed up to protect them as well.

"I can't believe you're all so STUPID!" Flowey laughed, wrapping everyone tightly in his thorned vines, getting yelps and moans of pain as if the electricity flowing through them was sapping the life out of them. "ALL OF YOUR SOULS ARE MINE!" He laughed. For Selenia everything started to go white, her vision blurring and the only sounds reaching her ears being everyone's pain. Frisk called out to her one last time before everything faded to black.

A/N~ Hello lovelies! Sorry it took a week longer than normal to get this chapter out, but I wanted to make sure that everything flowed pretty well together! And as is, we are coming down to the final chapters! And the results of the poll let me know that most of you want to see Lenna as a Lost Soul! So that will take up the majority of the next chapter! Yay! Anyway, have a wonderful day and stay beautiful darlings~~


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter 13

Darkness is what the older human woke up to. Her single eye gazed around the dark void she was floating in. She couldn't make heads or tails of anything in this place; no sense of direction, or time, or even if she was still alive. Selenia was thoroughly disoriented and yet she felt like she had been here multiple times before.

"I see you have returned to this place again, child…" A scratchy, echoing voice called to her from the surrounding darkness.

"Who are you?" She turned, trying to pinpoint the spot the voice resonated from.

"This time you are… alive." The voice seemed puzzled but satisfied.

"What do you mean?" The human continued to stare around the void, but found no trace of another being. "Have we met before?"

"You do not remember… Ah, that is why…" It laughed, but dissolved into a coughing fit.

"Are you alright?"

"Still just as kind as ever… No matter the timeline you are still the same…" The voice echoed about.

"Okay… so I'm guessing you're not going to answer my questions and just babble to yourself then." She shook her head, stopping her search.

"You really do not have any memories of being here… It is such a shame; you were a great conversational partner in the past…" The voice, which Selenia determined was masculine, continued.

"Never mind all of this… just leave me alone." She sighed, knowing she wasn't going to get any answers. She rubbed at her chest, a hollow feeling flowing through her.

"Stop teasing the poor girl, G." A more feminine, yet still echoing voice called out. "You should know better." It scolded.

"Wait…" The human started to look around once more. The second voice was oddly familiar and sent shivers through her entire being.

"You know better than to show yourself to her…" The first voice warned.

"I know, I know, but you're just torturing the poor girl by not answering her questions! Honestly, G, I thought we were passed that by now." The second continued its scolding.

"I am not going to argue with you." Two figures started to appear in the darkness; one was tall, wearing a dark, robe like coat and reminded the girl of the skeleton brothers, while the other was a head shorter, in more form fitting, feminine clothes.

"Oh, G~" The female teased, moving some of her dark hair, which was tinged with silver, out of her coffee colored eyes. "Has talking to me affected you so much that you lost the ability to keep your concealing magic up?"

"Of course I can keep it up, you troublesome-"

"M-m-mom?" Selenia was staring at the pair, her eye more focused on the woman.

"Hi sweetie!" The woman waved, her eyes sparkling with mischief. "So what were you saying, G?" She continued to tease her companion.

"Vivianne…" The skeleton man rubbed at his non-existent temples. "How many times have I asked you-"

"To not bother you when you're working, blah, blah, blah, I get it. This is _my_ daughter though, and you did ask for my help to keep her soul safe so stop worrying." Vivianne grinned as the male glared at her for interrupting him. "Now, come and give your old momma a hug!" She opened her arms for the younger woman.

"Mom!" Selenia floated forward quickly, embracing her mother and sobbing. "I've missed you so much!"

"I've missed you too, moonbeam." The mother was quick with trying to calm her child, gently stroking her back.

"What is this place? How are you here? Hell, how am I here?" The daughter mumbled out.

"Care to explain this one, G?" Vivianne teased the male again.

"Very well… First off to your earlier questions… My name is W.D. Gaster and this place we are in is known as the void between worlds. Most of you humans tend to like calling it purgatory from what I've seen though." His eye lights were focused on the younger human, who was still clinging to her mother like a life line. "As for why you are here, well…"

"We took a good chunk of your soul for safe keeping while Frisk deals with what they need to." The older woman was still grinning.

"Wait, wait, wait…" Selenia finally pulled away from her mother. "My soul is here, but it's not? Is that what you're saying?"

"Yes it is, for you see if that flower had gotten a hold on your soul as well, the child would not be able to stop him from eradicating the whole of the world." Gaster explained. "Without your whole soul being there he will not be able to achieve this form. Though it will be more difficult for the child to call you back from this realm, like they will do with their friend's souls."

"Frisk is supposed to do this all on their own?!" Worry was in the young woman's voice.

"They've done it plenty of times before; they'll be fine, moonbeam." Vivianne tried to soothe.

"What do you mean?!" Selenia backed away from the older woman, her eye glancing suspiciously between the two.

"This isn't Frisk's first rodeo down here." Vivianne finally became more serious. "Different timelines actually exist, and the kid has been living through them over and over again."

"Huh? Timelines?" The younger woman was confused.

"The child is filled with unbound amounts of what we call 'determination.' This power makes them able to reset a timeline at their will." Gaster picked up where the woman left off. "As such they have seen more than they let on. The other that is able to do so was the flower, or now what he used to be known as, Asriel Dreemurr."

"Dreemurr… as in Toriel and Asgore's child?" The girl looked between the two in front of her.

"It's true, and if he doesn't leave the underground once everyone is free to roam the surface, he can reset the timeline himself. That's no good." The older woman sighed. "That's the reason we wanted to talk to you, sweetie."

"What am I supposed to do? Take the plant, put it in a flower pot and bring it home with me?" Selenia still held a bit of a grudge on the flower.

"That sounds like a brilliant idea!" Vivianne was once again grinning.

"There is no way I'm doing that." The younger woman growled.

"There is something else you could do though." Gaster stared the girl down. "You could break your soul in half and give it to the plant."

"Okay… that doesn't sound any better." Selenia crossed her arms. "What would happen if I did it though?"

"We have been studying dual souls for a long time now, figuring out that they can be split from that seam in the middle." The skeletal man pulled the soul from her chest effortlessly. Its colors were dimmer than their usual vibrant green and purple.

"There is a downside to it though." The mother walked up, gently touching her daughter's soul. "It hurts like hell and you may not wake up from it for a long time."

"If it stops these resets from happening… gets everyone to the surface I'm all for it. Tell me though, what happens when I do give him half my soul?" The girl wanted to know every detail she could about this.

"Through half of your soul he will be able to remember what happened; that he returned to his true form for a short amount of time. He will also be able to have feelings again, which he lacked as a soulless plant, through the connection of your soul." Gaster continued to explain.

"Alright then… so why do I not remember anything about the previous resets or whatever they're called?" Curiosity was killing her.

"You have not been alive to experience them." The skeletal man went straight to the point.

"What?!"

"This is the first timeline where we haven't died together or that you didn't take your own life after meeting Frisk, moonbeam." Vivianne tried to soothe the younger woman, but it had no effect.

"What the fuck! I know I've wanted to die a few times here and there but actually killing myself? If I could get ahold of the other incarnations of me I'd strangle them for being so fucking stupid!" The girl growled.

"Calm yourself, child. We do not have much longer to speak with you and now is not the time to concern yourself with other timelines." Gaster scolded her.

"We need to know what you're going to choose to do so we can place that idea into your soul when Frisk finishes the battle." Vivianne watched her daughter carefully, seemingly startled by her outburst.

"Fine, fine." Selenia drew in a deep breath and exhaled it slowly to calm down. "How do I break my soul in half then?"

"Just think of the line in the middle as a perforated line you use to tear a page out of a notebook. You may have to twist it a little though." The older woman finally started to look worried. "It'll hurt like hell, kiddo so be prepared for that."

"It is time now to send you back. The child is starting to call for you." Gaster let the girl's soul fade back into her chest. "Tell my sons I said hello, and thank you for looking out for them."

"I-I will." The woman embraced her mother one last time. "I love you, mom."

"And I love you too, moonbeam, always and forever." Vivianne squeezed the girl tightly before releasing her and stepping back. "Now go save everyone else you love." The girl was once again shrouded in darkness, watching the two figures before her fade. They became distorted with Gaster's tall form dissolving into a black blob, while Vivianne's seemed to decay. The darkness the girl slipped into felt colder, drawing forth negative emotions from the human.

~~~ This break is here for you to grab popcorn~~~

Frisk stared at the Lost Soul in front of them, the image of their sibling forming before them from what appeared to be particles of dust. Her face did not fully form, just like the rest of them had not, but her hair was fluttering about in nonexistent winds, still held in two pigtails.

"Lenna!" The child called to her, to which the Lost Soul turned away.

"What is the point in continuing on with this pitiful existence…" The monotone voice resonated through the blank space. No attacks came toward the child, which they were grateful for, but found it rather odd.

"Hey, let's make some cookies!" They called to the soul again, watching as it perked up.

"It's not worth it…" The Lost Soul replied.

"Um…" Frisk had to stop and think for a moment. "Come on sis, let's go watch your favorite movie, or criticize a really bad one!" The soul once again perked up, as if remembering something.

"Everyone dies… Maybe I should just…" A humorless laugh escaped the female. Once again no attacks came, puzzling the child further.

"That's right…" They started thinking out loud. "I'm not dealing with a monster soul this time. Lenna is a human and her soul is stronger… It's going to take more than just me talking to her to bring her back…"

"Just give up… I have…" The Lost Soul turned toward the child just a fraction, as if it was staring straight through them. The words resonated with them, reminding them of another.

"Someone, anyone I need help!" Frisk called to the surrounding darkness.

"But nobody came…" The soul seemed to look toward her feet.

"actually, someone did show up." A slow moving figure came from the dark, its hands stuffed into the pockets of the hoodie it wore. "so what's the problem, kid?" The grinning skeleton looked from the young human to the Lost Soul before them, his eye lights widening.

"It's Lenna… I don't know what to do, Sans… I have no idea on how to save a human soul!" They were breathing hard.

"alright pal, calm down, deep breath and let it out slow." Sans knelt by their side, placing a hand on their shoulder to help calm them. The child did as they were told before looking between the skeleton and the soul.

"I've tried calling her back like I did with you guys… but she seems to resist… I haven't gotten to know her as well since we met again… and you seem like one of the closest to her now…" Frisk bit their lip as they watched the Lost Soul.

"let me try something, pal." Sans stood up walking over to the soul. His grin faltered slightly as she turned away from him. "hey kiddo, wanna hit Grillby's with me?"

"Nothing really matters…" The soul perked at the suggestion, her body shivering slightly, but returned to that normal, faraway look almost immediately.

"c'mon kid, I'd be _patella-ing_ you a _fibula_ if I said I wasn't worried about you." He watched as the soul laughed at the puns, finally turning toward him. He desperately wished he could see her face, but the particles blocking it would not budge.

"You're worried….? It must be a lie?" The female seemed unsure.

"Selenia. It's still you." The skeleton murmured, watching closely as she stiffened. A flash blinded his and the child's vision for a second before the girl's face was revealed.

"I'm still me! I'm still here and nothing is going to take me away from the people I love!" Selenia grinned at the two. The human and skeleton took hold of one another's hands before Frisk went to finish their battle against Asriel.

~~~ This break is here for your bathroom break~~~

Selenia slowly felt herself becoming conscious, her body in pain from lying at an awkward angle. "Oh, she's waking up!" A familiar, female voice reached her ears, making her head pound. "My child, are you well?" The human opened her eye, letting it roam about the multiple faces before her. The faces slowly came into focus; it was all of the monsters that she had become close to while in the underground.

"F-Frisk… where is Frisk?" Her voice was rough, she definitely needed a drink.

"they're fine kid, sleeping just like you were." Sans held out his hand to her, which she took and he helped her to her feet. Toriel was sitting with the child's head in her lap, worry evident on her face but she gave the older human a smile.

"What happened to us? Where are we?" Selenia took the time to study the small room everyone was in. Her mind was foggy and she didn't have memories of falling asleep in this room.

"We cannot recall what happened either, child." It was Asgore that spoke this time. "The room we are in though is just past the throne room and leads up to where the barrier was."

"Wait, was? Does that mean?" The human's eye widened as everyone nodded at her, smiles on all of their faces.

"Yeah punk, the barrier's down!" Undyne was grinning, exposing her sharp teeth for all to see. "We were just waiting for you and Frisk to wake up." The sentence was barely out of her mouth and the child started to stir.

"Morning, everyone." Their voice was hoarse as well. As soon as they locked eyes with their sister, the older human clutched at the place her soul resided. Whispers entered the girl's mind, talking about timelines and how to put a stop to what were called resets. As soon as the whispers stopped, she knew what she had to do.

"Hey squirt, anyone you want to talk to before we lead everyone to the surface?" Selenia smiled at her sibling, who gave her a look.

"Yeah, I want to go see my friends in Snowdin before we go." Frisk was quick to catch on to the double meaning of their sister's words.

"WOULD YOU LIKE AN ESCORT BACK?" Papyrus spoke up.

"Uh, I kind of wanted to talk to Frisk in private on the way there…" The older human hinted.

"We shall wait here for you both to return then." Toriel smiled at them.

"We'll see you guys in a bit then!" Selenia waved to everyone happily, secretly memorizing everyone's faces. The siblings quickly and quietly walked away from their group of friends, heading back the way they had come.

"Lenna, what's bothering you?" The younger human caught on to her emotions quickly.

"Well…" The older sighed, a sad smile slipping onto her lips. "I know some what of the different timelines and the constant resets." The child stopped for a second before continuing to walk.

"Who told you?" Their curiosity was bubbling.

"His name was… Caster? No wait, Gaster that was it." She nodded. "He and my mom told me."

"You actually saw and talked to them? What do they want you to do?"

"They want the resets to stop. I know what I have to do, but I need your help on finding the flower, or Asriel." She looked down at the child pleadingly.

"I know where he is. He goes back to the beginning of the underground where we fell down… but what are you going to do, Lenna?" They were guarded, wanting to trust their sister but scared of what would happen to Asriel.

"I'm not going to hurt him; I'm going to help him…" She shook her head with a sigh. "If I told you how though, you would probably try to talk me out of it so I can't give you the details."

The rest of their walk from the capital to Hotland was spent in silence, as was the walk to the river person who would take them to Snowdin. The ride was quiet except for the sloshing of water against the boat and the river person's incoherent humming.

The duo departed from the boat as snow started to fall. Snowdin was bustling with activity; word that the barrier had fallen had already reached the monsters here. They all seemed so happy and excited about the development that few seemed to notice the two humans walking among them. The older human smiled as they strolled past Endogeny and the rest of the Snowdin guard dogs. Even Grillby was out of his bar, conversing with others while snow melted at his feet.

"Everyone is so happy." Selenia observed, hoping to start a conversation with her sibling.

"They always are after the barrier breaks… I forgot how happy it actually makes them." Frisk had a sad smile on their face as they quietly responded.

"If all goes according to play, the resets will stop… Everyone will get the happily ever after they deserve." Determination radiated from the older human, a serious look on her face.

They were soon in the forest outside of Snowdin, closing in on the door to the Ruins. The snow was falling faster, building up on the permanent layer already coating the ground and giving the humans some difficulty in their walk. Frisk was shivering so much that their teeth were chattering. Selenia halted, kneeling down in front of them.

"Come on, squirt hop on." She grinned at them.

"Are you sure? I won't be too heavy?" They hesitated.

"You'll be fine; you're not the first child backpack I've had and you probably won't be the last." The duo laughed as the child climbed onto her back, locking their arms securely around her neck. "We'll be out of the snow soon; the door is right up ahead and then we can take a break."

The older human trudged through the snow as quickly as she could. The child on her back was still shivering but not nearly as much as before due to her added body heat. She was whispering to them to stay awake, bringing up the memory of what Sans had done for her when they first met. She found it funny that they were back tracking the whole way back to the beginning of their journey. It would all be worth it though, even if she wouldn't get to see the true happiness on everyone's faces when they got to the surface; she was just glad to help bring the true end to the story.

Upon reaching the door, Selenia pulled it open as far as she could; the stone was heavy and with Frisk on her back and the buildup of snow in front of it made it extremely difficult. She got it open enough for the two of them to slip inside before the door closed behind them and blocked out the cold air.

"Okay then, break time squirt." She carefully slid the child from her back before looking them over. "A little red and cold but otherwise unharmed. Good." They smiled at one another and sat back against the closest wall. "So when we get back home… what would you like to do?"

"Get some chicken nuggets." Both ended up laughing before Frisk turned serious again. "What is everyone going to do once we get up there though? No one really has a place to go to once we get home."

"Well, I still live in the old farm house at the base of the mountain, so we could use that as our base of operations." The woman shrugged. "You remember where it is right?"

"Yeah, and that you hide a spare key under a loose floor board at the end of the porch." They grinned.

"Okay you little sneak." Selenia grabbed the child, initiating a small tickle fight.

"Sis, no!" They laughed, trying to squirm away from the offending digits.

"What's that? You want more tickles?" She giggled as she moved her fingers faster.

"Uncle! Uncle!" Frisk had tears in their eyes from laughing so hard. The older human stopped, smiling down at her sibling.

"I don't like seeing you so serious, squirt, so let's have some fun for the last leg of this okay?" She ruffled the child's hair before standing up. "Last one to the beginning has to pick up Sans' sock collection!" She then trotted ahead, letting her sibling have a few seconds to catch up to her.

"Ew, no thanks!" Frisk quickly got ahead of their sibling, a look of determination taking over their face due to not wanting anything to do with the skeleton's socks.

The duo raced through the ruins, poking fun at one another the entire time. Selenia was happy to take the child's mind off the matter at hand, especially since she didn't know when she would see them next. She wanted to give Frisk a good memory to reflect back on before the inevitable came to pass; before she went comatose for an undisclosed amount of time. They stopped right at the entrance of the final room, Frisk being the victor of their race.

"Let me go in first, Lenna. He normally expects me to show up and I don't know how he will react to someone else coming here with me." Frisk's hands were clenched into tight firsts at their sides.

"Of course, squirt. Give him the heads up that I'm here, and then give me a shout." Selenia smiled at them as they ran ahead. She leaned back against the nearest wall and pulled out her phone. She had at least ten text messages from Toriel, who had apparently gotten her phone upgraded by Alphys. It amused her greatly at watching how the goat woman's first texts were sloppy and that she even came up with her own emoji.

A humorless laugh bubbled up from her throat. She was going to leave everyone she knew and loved for a little while and it hurt knowing that. If it hurt her this badly, how much was it going to hurt the others? She was going to regret causing everyone pain, but it would be worth it in the end. No more resets and everyone will be happy. The sound of her sibling calling for her drew the woman out of her thoughts. She slowly pushed herself away from the wall and wandered into the room where the two were waiting for her.

As she moved out into the room, Selenia quickly scanned over the boy standing beside Frisk. He was definitely a goat monster like his parents, with mauve eyes and snow colored fur. He wore a simple green and yellow striped, long sleeved shirt and dark slacks leaving his feet bare.

"Hey kiddos." The woman knelt down to their height, a small smile breaking through.

"Asriel, this is my big sis, Selenia. Lenna, this is Asriel." Frisk introduced them to one another.

"Hello ma'am." The boy was a bit shy, twiddling his fingers around one another.

"Oh please no formalities like that. You can call me Lenna as well if you want, or sister, whichever works." She slowly extended a hand in his direction, which he timidly shook in return.

"O-okay Lenna." He smiled at her, though it seemed rather sad. "I'm glad I got to see you before I turned back into a flower. I want to apologize for what I did as Flowey."

"There's nothing for you to worry about, sweetie, I understand." Her own smile shifted as well. "I need you to promise me something though, okay?"

"Um… what do you want me to promise?"

"Stay strong, help look out for everyone. Now do me a big favor… Pull my soul out for me." She was still smiling, and still holding onto the young monster's hand.

"What? Lenna what are you going to do?" Frisk was becoming panicked. Asriel was scared as well, but the reassuring smile on the woman's face brought him some kind of calm. He took her hand with both of his and started to concentrate. A gentle burning feeling encompassed her chest before her soul was drawn forth, the violet and green heart lighting the trio's faces.

"Thank you, sweet boy." Selenia raised her unoccupied hand, giving the boy a gentle pat on the head. She then carefully took the soul into her hands, gazing into its depths for a moment. "I need you two to stay strong okay? What I'm going to do is going to put me into a deep, deep sleep for a while.

"Because I have a dual soul I can split it in half and still be able to survive, meaning I can give half of it to you, Asriel. Even if you do turn back into a plant you will hopefully remember all of this through my connection. This is not going to be pretty but please accept half my soul." She gripped the soul on the rounded parts, feeling pressure on her whole body.

The sound of cracking glass reached the children's ears as they stared on in shock and horror as Selenia twisted the soul in opposite directions. She bit her lip to keep in a scream of pain, which felt like she was being stabbed, burned, and drowned at the same time. It was unbearable, but she wasn't going to give up when she had come this far. Her breathing was ragged as she continued to twist and pull the soul apart. She finally broke it in half and a crushing weight pulled her to the ground.

Tears were in her eye as she clutched the purple half of the soul to herself, holding out the green part to the goat child. "P-please take it…"

"Lenna what have you done?" Frisk was almost sobbing, tears cascading down their cheeks.

"No more r-resets… True h-happy ending…" The woman rasped out before gripping the green half and using the rest of her strength to lift herself enough to forcefully thrust the soul into Asriel's chest. His body absorbed it almost instantly, tears flowing down his furry cheeks at the warmth it radiated. The broken, purple half faded back into her chest and a pained smile crossed her lips. "You're in charge f-from here, F-Frisk. Take c-care of everyone w-while I'm away." Her eye closed as she fell to her side, darkness surrounding her.

"You did well, moonbeam." The voice of Vivianne echoed in her daughter's mind before all consciousness left the girl.

~A/N~ Well here we have it! Don't worry this isn't the end, I'm not cruel enough to leave you guys hanging like this, there will be an epilogue! And sorry for the wait, I got writer's block for a little bit on how I wanted it to play out so my fault. Anyway if you enjoyed let me know! Have a great day lovelies!


	14. Epilogue

"how long has it been since we've been above ground now?" sans sighed as he gazed up at the sky. His eye lights were unfocused, his mind focused elsewhere.

"Two years, three months and five days." A ten year old Frisk responded, their own eyes focused on the flower chain they were making.

"Doesn't really feel like it's been that long…" Asriel, in his flower form spoke up from his spot, coiled around Frisk's neck.

"feels like it's been longer." The skeleton finally glanced away from the sky. "c'mon, it's getting late. tori'll have my skull if i don't get you two home before dinner." He started walking off down the dirt path before the human could get to their feet. The child sighed as they lifted themself from the ground and trotted forward to keep up with their uncle.

The surface had been strangely kind to the monsters once the barrier was broken. Most humans welcomed them with open arms, while others only tolerated them as business partners and the like. Then of course there were racists against them just like how the humans hated their own for being different. All in all though it was a peaceful existence, and the monsters couldn't have been happier by the way things turned out… except for a select few that still grieved the loss of a beloved human. In the two years they had been above ground, the human had shown no signs of waking from her comatose state.

"Do you think she'll wake up soon, Frisk?" Asriel whispered to their adopted sibling so the skeleton would not hear.

"I hope she will… we all miss her, some more than others." They whispered back, looking down at the flower crown in their hands. They had been the ones to tell everyone what had happened, having to call one of them to bring their sister back with them. Sans was the one that had come, to say he was upset was an understatement.

The skeleton had been furious and distraught at the same time. He couldn't seem to wrap his skull around what had happened and had wanted Frisk to reset in hopes of preventing it. They had to tell him she had to do what she did to stop the resets from happening ever again; to give everyone the happy ending they deserved. That did not go over very well either, but he had relented. He had then carried the comatose girl, leading the two children back to the group. The rest of them were also shocked.

Toriel and Asgore were both overjoyed and despairing. They were both ecstatic to find out their son was alive, but were sorrowful at the stated of the woman they claimed as their daughter. They cried tears of joy and tears of sorrow at the same time.

Undyne showed her sorrow through anger, punching the nearest wall and cursing everything. Alphys kept more to herself but was crying all the same, trying to get the fish woman to calm her rage. She only calmed enough to wrap her arms around the lizard woman in a comforting embrace.

Papyrus was heartbroken. Someone who became like a sister to him was basically lifeless before him. The only sign of life coming from her was the rise and fall of her chest with every intake of breath. He felt that he was going to cry, but she wouldn't want that of him. He told himself that she would wake up soon, and they could all be happy again.

The three continued back toward the house in silence. Red, orange and yellow leaves fell around them with the autumn season setting in. Frisk ran ahead, kicking through the fallen leaves and laughing. Sans' grin lifted slightly, glad to see the kid having fun. The old farm house came into view, a few vehicles parked in front of it.

"It looks like Papyrus is home and that Alphys and Undyne are visiting!" Frisk chirped happily, running on ahead. Sans continued to stroll his normal pace, gloom starting to spread the closer he got to the house. _She_ was in there, only living because she was attached to a machine that kept her alive. He was grateful for it but it wasn't the same as having her conscious, talking and laughing with everyone. It made his soul ache just thinking about it. He despised not being able to see her face light up with a smile.

The skeleton sighed again as he ascended the porch steps and wandered through the door into the family room. Everyone was seated, except for Frisk and Asriel, who had run off somewhere. Asgore was serving everyone some sort of tea while Toriel placed out a heaping tray of snacks. He plopped down on a spacious recliner that he had claimed since their arrival on the surface.

Sans watched as everyone talked and laughed together, but that dark cloud of gloom was still floating about. Each smile seemed a bit more forced and every word a bit more careful. He felt a bit off, not really enjoying how happy everyone seemed. Living on the surface, being able to see the sky, making new friends; it all felt off without one of the humans responsible for their happiness being there.

Frisk gently placed the flower crown on the comatose woman's head. She looked so peaceful in her slumber that it seemed wrong to want her to awaken. Asriel, who had figured out how to switch between the flower and his true form, was standing on the other side of the bed, checking the machines that were keeping the older human alive. They had both been taught what the machines did; one to help with bodily functions, one to monitor brain waves and one to monitor heartbeat. There was even a device, of Alphys' design, that allowed them to view her soul.

"Has anything changed over there?" Frisk asked.

"Not really… a few spikes on the brain one though." Asriel watched the monitor closely.

"Really? That's new! Maybe she'll be able to hear us now if we try talking to her!" The human child was giddy over the discovery. "Keep watching the brain one, I'll try talking to her." They leaned closer to their older sister's ear. "Lenna? It's me, Frisk… we did it, we all made it to the surface… We miss you, sis. We all want you to wake up soon okay?" They glanced up at the goat child, who looked awed at the machine.

"I think you got through to her! Come look!" The boy moved aside so the human could look. They saw that the bars were spiking rapidly, bringing a grin to their face. "Try again! Let's see if we can get her to move or something!" The two were both very excited.

"Lenna, can you maybe try to move one of your fingers?" Frisk kept a careful eye on the woman's hands, watching as her pointer finger twitched. "She's doing it! Quick, go get Alphys! She has to know about this!" They were ecstatic. Asriel rushed off to find the formal royal scientist as soon as the words left their mouth.

The boy ran down the hall into the family room and scurried up to the lizard woman. Everyone stopped what they were doing to stare at him, making him nervous. He quickly whispered to the scientist about what was going on, making her gasp as they both hurriedly walked back to the room of the comatose woman. The others all stared on after the two, worry on their features.

Frisk had continued talking to their sister, who seemed closer and closer to coming to. She was moving the more they asked but her eye had yet to open. Alphys ran into the room, with Asriel trailing behind her, and started to look over the human and machine almost instantly.

"Y-you've both just been checking the brainwave monitor and her reactions t-to speaking to her, r-right?" The timid doctor pulled out the device used to check the comatose woman's soul.

"Yeah, we haven't checked anything else." Asriel was the one to reply. Alphys nodded, moving the device into place over the woman's chest. Her eyes widened as the image of the half soul was pulsating.

"Alphys? What's wrong?" Frisk stared, eyes full of worry.

"Her s-soul is p-p-pulsing…" It confused the lizard woman, having never seen a soul react like this before. The two children stood up on their tip toes to glance at the device, confirming the doctor wasn't hallucinating. The three of them stood watching the soul for a good few minutes, unsure of what to do.

~Break time!~

Selenia sighed, staring out at the void around her as she floated about. Her mind had delved back into the dark space after she split her soul, giving her ample time to get to know her mother again. She also learned a few bits and pieces about the skeleton man named Gaster. He had been the royal scientist before Alphys, and he was also the father of both Sans and Papyrus. One of his experiments had gone wrong, transporting him to the void and twisting some of his magic to it's will. Being the scientist that he is, he adored learning more about the void so he decided to stay and continue his work in the place.

From what she had observed of the scientist and her mother together, she concluded that they were either a strange pair of lovers or the best of friends. She hoped more for the latter, since the thought of her mother with Sans and Papyrus' father made her slightly uncomfortable. She was still happy that they were happy though.

Another sigh passed the young woman's lips as she got lost in her own thoughts. She wondered how everyone was faring outside of the void; hoping they were all doing well in her absence. "Has Toriel become a teacher? Undyne a coach of some sort? Maybe Alphys getting a degree in science? What about everyone else?" She muttered to herself, drawing her knees to her chest.

"You need to stop worrying so much, moonbeam." Vivianne huffed, taking a seat beside her daughter. "You're going to end up getting wrinkles."

"I'll get them no matter what." The young woman countered. "I just miss everyone so much."

"We know you do… The thing G is working on is almost complete though, so you'll be able to go back and see them soon enough." The older woman wrapped an arm around her daughter's shoulders. "Just be patient for a little longer."

"I'll try." Selenia sighed. "Its been a little over two years though… How do you think they're all faring?"

"Hmm... " Vivianne rested her unoccupied hand on her chin. "Well Mettaton is probably a super big star by now; tons of fangirls and groupie chicks to perv on instead of you." The mother laughed at her daughter's futile attempt to swat at her. "Okay, okay! Seriously though, hon, they are all doing the best they could be. Only thing they're really missing in their lives right now is you. Otherwise it's just like all the other happy endings they could get."

"So… because of me their happy ending isn't a happy ending?" The younger woman drew in a shaky breath, a frown marring her features.

"Stop thinking like that, moonbeam. I know you haven't had any of your depression meds for a while, but you should still try to be happy." The older woman smoothed a hand over her daughter's hair in an attempt to calm her.

Vivianne started to hum softly, breaking the silence of the void around them. They wre both seemingly done with conversation at this point; just glad to be in each others company for the time being. They had both found out from Gaster that a repercussion of Selenia splitting her soul was that it may never heal enough for her body to awaken from it's coma. Both women had been absolutely livid about it. The older woman didn't even speak to the skeletal man for months after she demanded he find a solution to the problem.

Selenia saw how much not talking to one another hurt the older two; Gaster withdrew into himself while her mother seemed to somehow conjure up dishes to clean. She knew the older woman's way of coping well enough to speak to her about talking to the skeleton man. Vivianne reluctantly agreed if only to stifle the worry she saw in her daughter. The two made up a little while after that, resulting in Gaster working harder on getting the girl to return to the waking world.

"I'm worried about Sans and Papyrus the most though." Selenia confided, her single eye focused on her thumbs as they rotated over one another.

"Could have figured out that one easily." Vivianne smirked, drawing her daughter's attention. "One's overly trusting without a mean bone in him, leading to the thought that he could easily be hurt. The other takes forever to trust someone and open up to them. Then he's slightly protective over the ones he does let in. It's completely understandable."

"I suppose so…" The younger woman flopped backwards to stare up into the never-ending darkness of the void, seeing a few white specks above her that resembled stars in the night sky.

"And, not to mention, you're hopelessly in love with the shorter one." The mother teased.

"Mom no!" Selenia's cheeks warmed at the words. "You and Toriel are one in the same when it comes to teasing me about him."

"It's in a mother's nature to tease their children every once in a while." The older woman laughed before they delved back into the comfortable silence. Each woman was once again lost in their own thoughts; Vivianne drawing patterns in the inky void and Selenia gazing up at the star like specks above.

The tall figure of Gaster emerged from the darkness before the two women. His arms were behind his back, a dark box clutched carefully in his holed hands. He greeted the women warmly, eye lights flickering with excitement. A smile adorned his cracked, mask like face.

"What's that behind your back, G?" Vivianne stood, trying to look around the tall male with little success.

"Ah, you see this is the solution to the problem we have been facing…" His echoing voice hinted.

"Is that the thing to fix my soul?" Selenia lept to her feet, also trying to look around him.

"It is indeed, child." The skeletal man revealed the box to them, lifting its lid to show what seemed to be a dark, but oddly clear half heart shape. It pulsed softly within the box, making both women stare at it in awe.

"So how does it work?" The older woman reached out to touch it, but the scientist quickly pulled it out of her reach.

"It will absorb residual magic from your friends soul tethers to you. It will feed directly into your broken soul to make up for the half you gave away." Gaster explained.

"So it's like a magical soul sponge?" Selenia continued to stare at the object.

"Something like that, yes." The male chuckled. "May I?" He held a hand toward the younger woman's chest, indicating that he wanted to see her soul. She nodded and felt the sting of her soul leaving her body.

The little, violet, half heart lit the faces of the three standing around it. THe light coming from it was dimmer than normal, due to the sad state it was in. Selenia swallowed hard as she stared at it, still not used to seeing it looking so pitiful.

"This may hurt a bit, child. Are you prepared?" Gaster watched the girl carefully, his eye lights flickering. She took in a deep breath and swallowed hard again, nodding in response. "There is no turning back after this… Are you positive you are ready?"

"Mom…" The younger woman turned to the older, embracing her. "I'll miss you."

"I'll miss you too, moonbeam." Vivianne returned the hug, placing a loving kiss to her daughter's temple. "You be safe and get strong fast. There's a lot of people waiting for you that love you."

"I'll try." Steeling her resolve, Selenia backed away from the older woman. Her eye focused back on Gaster as she nodded to him. "I'm ready."

The skeletal scientist took gentle hold on the broken soul, pulling it closer to the box. Some dark but translucent tendrils came out from the strange half heart, reaching toward the soul fragment. As soon as one of the tendrils touched the soul, Selenia felt immense pain in her chest. Her knees buckled under her and her vision started to swim. The pain increased as the void soul attached itself to hers; her vision flashing white before going dark.

~Another Happy break time!~

Alphys watched the soul monitor worriedly, her small, dark pupils moving from it to the other machines at the comatose woman's bedside. The two children were still talking, trying to get the older human to open her eyes. Monitors starting to beep alerted the three's attention, making the reptilian scientist turn her attention fully toward them.

"H-heart rate, breathing, a-and brain a-a-activity are high… how…" The skittish female returned her gaze back to the soul monitor and gasped at what it displayed. A dark blob had attached itself to the weak half soul, making up the unfinished half as it formed. "W-what is going on?!"

Time seemed to slow as the monitors stopped their incessant beeping and the woman laying in the bed opened her eye. Her soul continued to pulsate as it started to draw in the magic residue from those near her. Her blurred vision started to sharpen after a few blinks, noticing the three faces staring back at her in surprise.

"Good morning." Selenia's voice was rough as she forced her vocal cords to work.

"Lenna!" Frisk crashed into their sister, unable to hold back happy tears as their arms wrapped around her neck.

"I missed you too, squirt." The older human wrapped her weak arms around her sibling. "Can't really call you that anymore huh? YOu've gotten so big." Her eye slowly turned up to look at the other two in the room. "Als, Asriel… it's good to see you two as well." Her smile was small but genuine.

"I-I-It's nice to finally s-see you awake, Selenia." Alphys moved her glasses aside to get rid of her gathering tears.

"Miss Lenna… I'm so sorry, this is my fault." Asriel was trying to hold back his tears, his small frame shaking from holding in sobs.

"It's not your fault, sweet boy." Selenia smiled at the goat child, beckoning him over for a hug as well. He slowly climbed onto the bed, to which she pulled him into the hug. He started bawling as soon as his head touched her shoulder, the sobs muffled by her shirt. "There, there now, no need for tears. We're all here and okay… and I said for you to just call me Lenna, silly." The woman chuckled weakly, squeezing both children close to her.

Soon the monster child pulled away, wiping his tears with a smile on his face. "I'll go tell the others you're awake." He slid from the bed and quickly padded from the room. He picked up his pace, running down the hall calling out as he went. "Everyone! Everyone!" He slid around the corner into the living room, almost knocking into and end table in his haste. He panted for a moment, drawing everyone's attention before turning a smiling, relieved face to the room's occupants. "She's awake!"

Sans dropped the treat he was holding, eye sockets wide. His breath hitched before, in the blink of an eye, he was standing in the formerly comatose woman's room. Said woman was weakly holding a happy, sobbing Frisk in her arms, a tiny smile gracing her lips as she tried to calm them. Her left eyelid was down as far as it could go, while her right eye focused its attention on the child. Almost as if she felt eyes on her, she turned his way, her smile widening a fraction at seeing him.

"Sans…" Selenia's voice was rough from disuse. She held onto Frisk with one arm as she held the other one out to him, inviting him to come give her a hug as well. The skeleton stood frozen to the spot, not sure if he was stuck inside of one of his dreams or not. Her smile faltered slightly at his actions.

"HUMAN!" Papyrus barreled his way into the room, quickly reaching the bedside and lifting the older human up into his arms. Frisk flopped gently to the bed, grinning up at the tall skeleton and their sister. Papyrus had tangerine colored tears leaking from his eye sockets in happiness as he held the human to him in a bone crushing hug.

"Hey there, Paps…" The woman whimpered slightly in his hold, making him loosen his grip for her comfort. "It's been a while huh?"

"WE HAVE ALL MISSED YOU SO MUCH!" The skeleton's happy tears continued to flow as he nuzzled his skull into her hair.

"Don't scare us like that again, punk!" Undyne had entered the room next, stalking up to the duo before lightly tapping the human's arm. "Next time I'll beat you awake if I have to!"

"I missed you too…" Selenia lowered her voice so Frisk wouldn't hear. "Fishtits." The fish woman let out a loud guffawed at the old nickname. Toriel and Asgore were the last ones in, the goat woman quickly scooping the frail human into her arms with happy tears streaming down her muzzle. The boss monsters both nuzzled their adopted daughter in happiness.

Sans stood off to the side, watching everyone happily fawning over the woman. He didn't know what to do; he wanted to be happy and embrace her like the others, but his inhibitions held him back from going forward. He could not fully grasp the situation before him, not quite convinced that it wasn't a dream yet. Her singular gaze would wander his direction every now and again, worry etched on her brow. In a blink he was standing out on the porch, eye sockets devoid of their eye lights and skull tilted toward the ground in thought.

Selenia stared at the spot the shorter skeleton once stood in confusion; why had he not come to greet her like the others had? What was going on in that head of his? She shook the thought off to ponder later, for now she was just happy to be back in her crazy, little, mismatched family.

~Another Break for your viewing pleasure!~

A few hours later everyone had gone off to let Selenia rest on her own for a while. She stared out of the closest window, watching fall leaves flutter by on their descent to the ground below. Everyone had happily relayed information to her of what she had missed while in her coma. They all seemed to be doing really well and she was happy for all of them. They all had gotten the happiness they deserved; they got their true happy ending. The only one she was unsure of was the short, comedic skeleton.

Selenia slowly turned in her bed, reaching out for the drawer on her bedside table. SHe searched around the inside of the drawer before finding the small hand mirror she wanted. She weakly sat back upright, holding the mirror in front of herself to take a look at her face. She winced at her reflection, she looked like death warmed over; sickly pale, eye slightly sunken in with a dark ring around it, hair wilted and tangled in knots. She quickly through the mirror away from her in disgust.

"hey kid, what did that mirror do to you?" The deep, rumbling voice quickly drew her attention. Sans stood leaning against the far wall of the room, looking slightly uncomfortable.

"It showed me a real monster." Selenia stuck out her tongue and shook her head, making disgusted noises.

"heh, you'll be looking better in no time." He tried smiling her way.

"We look like twins at the moment though." She smiled back at him before patting the bed beside her, inviting him to sit with her. He complied but sat beside her feet instead of closer, making her frown. "What's going on in that thick skull of yours, Sans?"

"hoping that this isn't some kind of fucked up dream." The skeleton admitted, his eye lights turned away from her.

"What's making you think that way?" She wished that he would look at her, but didn't blame him for not doing so.

" 've had dreams about you waking up before that just turned out to not be true when i woke up." He shrugged it off, making her frown deepen.

"Give me your hand for a sec." She carefully reached out to him, her hand palm up to await his. He stared at her outstretched hand for a while before turning his gaze away again. A memory made itself to the fore front of her mind, making her smile. "Don't you know how to greet an old pal? Turn around and shake my hand." He froze, slowly turning to look back at her, his hand shakily finding hers.

Selenia gripped his hand tightly, using what little strength she had to pull him to her and wrap her arms around his shoulders. The skeleton grunted as he was jerked into her embrace. He timidly returned the hug, feeling how soft she was, her breath tickling his bones and how her fingers gripped his jacket seemed to pull him out of the 'this is a dream' trance.

"this… is real…" Sans held the human tighter, nuzzling into the crook of her neck and releasing a shaky breath. She rubbed soothing circles into his spine, patiently waiting for him to sort out whatever was on his mind. "I-i thought we lost ya kid." His voice was watery.

"You can't get rid of me that easily, numbskull." They both quietly laughed before the woman turned serious. "You didn't have to wait around for me though, you could have moved on and been happy." She felt his grip on her tighten.

"who told you-"

"Everyone."

"figures." He chuckled dryly.

"I'm serious, Sans. I didn't know if I was going to wake up either… and when I did I would have been happier knowing that you moved on rather than moping about and being lonely." She pulled back from him, holding him at arm's length. Her eye stared intently into his sockets, trying to get a read on him. "I wanted all of you to have the happy ending you deserved."

"wouldn't have been a true happy ending without you here." The skeleton's eye lights were dim. "you've influenced all of us so much, kid. it wouldn't have been the same without you here." He sighed, trying to come up with the right words. "everything was a bit darker without you here while you were out. the fog just started to lift with you waking up."

"Guess I'm the dummy then." Selenia smiled gently. "I missed you, Sans." She drew him back into another hug, that he swiftly returned.

"missed you too." He clung onto her like a lifeline, a relieved sob escaping him. She tried to soothe him to the best of her abilities; throwing out some bad puns and rubbing circles into his spine again. "should probably get out of your hair and let you rest." The skeleton was reluctant to pull away.

"I really don't want to be alone right now… so pillow?" She pulled her best puppy dog face that she could manage, making him chuckle in response.

"alright, don't give me that look." He quickly removed his shoes and crawled under the covers with her, where she quickly latched onto him.

The duo laid in silence, just happy to be back in one another's presence after so long. Selenia rested her head on his sternum, listening to the dull thrum of magic flowing through him. It calmed her and brought a smile to her lips before she started to giggle.

"what's tickling your funny bone, kid?" Sans showed her a genuine smile, his eye lights sparkling with life.

"I missed my pillow…" She got out between her giggles. "These other ones just weren't up to my _sansdards_." She felt his rumbling laughter before she heard it, making her grin.

"jeeze kid, that was a good one." He continued to laugh it off for a minute.

"I really did miss you thought, Sans… Every moment I was out of commission my thoughts were on you, the others too, but you topped my list." She sighed, snuggling herself closer to him. "I need to tell you something else as well, the reason I was able to wake up." A yawn escaped her.

"you can tell me later." His voice was soft.

"No, I really want you to know now." She sluggishly sat up, turning to pull the soul monitor in front of her, switching it on to reveal her soul fragment and the translucent glob that was fused to it.

"what…" The skeleton was at a loss for words.

"My consciousness found its way into the void between worlds while I was out. My mother was there, as well as someone you may know. His name was Gaster." She watched as his eye lights disappeared.

"my... old man was there?" His voice was low, a dangerous edge on it.

"He created the thing you see attached to my soul to wake me up and return me to all of you." Selenia eyed him carefully. "It acts as a sort of sponge that draws in left over magic from our soul tethers. It's keeping me from falling back into a coma by fueling me with that magic because of all the damage I did to my soul."

"you shouldn't have trusted him so easily, kid. he's a tricky old bastard, and there's probably another reason why he tried to 'help' you." Sans was on edge and very skeptical.

"Yeah… he kind of had to put up with my mother and found out how long she can hold a grudge." She rubbed the back of her neck awkwardly. Quietly she turned the monitor off and returned it to its proper place. "One thing you never do is anger my mom."

"what... uh… are they to one another?" He seemed a bit nervous, and awkward, asking.

"All I know is that they're really close… Mom was always interested in alternate timeline theories and the likes." She quickly covered her mouth, eye wide at the information she let slip.

"no need to hide it from me, i already know about all the alternate timelines and endings." He watched her release a breath.

"Good, makes it a ton easier to explain then. So you know why I had to split my soul?"

"still not to clear on that one, pal." She fliched at his words before sighing.

"I gave the other half to Asriel so he could feel again. Through that connection he would be able to come with us and permanently stop the resets." She gasped as he pulled her into his lap, his arms encircling her waist and his skull resting on her shoulder.

"i knew you would make this timeline different." He murmured into her.

"No more resets… the true happy ending." She smiled and softly kissed his cheek bone. "You and everyone else, don't have to worry about living in the shadows anymore." The two then both drifted into a comfortable sleep, holding one another close.

~A/N~ And there you have it my lovelies! Thank all of you for sticking with me through the end! You guys really, really, really inspired me so much through all of your reviews and it brought this girl out of her depressed state just to give you guys this little bit of happiness! Thank you all so much! Until next time, and have a great day! =D


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